Stand Together - an AmourShipping story
by MegazardXY
Summary: A new organization comprised of several old ones is threatening the Kalos region. Champion Diantha turns to 15-year-old Ash Ketchum for help; and he calls upon many of his old friends. Together, they stand united against the evil organization that threatens not only the Kalos region, but the entire universe. Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon
1. Chapter 1

What's up everyone, I'm back with a brand new story that I hope to be my best one yet. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Champion's Plea

Never had the beautiful actress Diantha been defeated in battle; not since she had claimed the title of Kalos Champion. The exemplary bond she shared with her Pokemon, most notably with her Gardevoir, displayed the perfect synchronization and battling prowess people and Pokemon could ever hope to achieve.

It is for this reason that it had been quite a shock to Diantha and her numerous adoring fans when she had been defeated by Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town.

The battle had been spectacular, one of the most intense battles of the century. Ash could replay the images in his mind; every trivial detail from the suspenseful exposition to the breathtaking finale.

He and all of his Pokemon had worked so hard, and they were all well-supported by their friends Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena...especially Serena. He couldn't have thanked her and the two siblings enough; they truly were and still are some of his closest friends.

But despite all that, and despite having finally won a league, Ash had declined the title of Champion. Staying in one region and having challengers come to _him_ wasn't quite his style. He still had his goal in mind: to become a Pokemon Master. No one knows for sure exactly what his definition of such a title is, but he made it clear that winning one league was just the beginning.

The only people who weren't surprised by this are the two most important adult figures in his life: Delia Ketchum and Professor Samuel Oak.

Watching the battle on television had been a stressful ordeal for Mrs. Ketchum. She wouldn't have been able to bear seeing Ash lose a sixth time; not after all the effort he had put into training. So when Diantha's Mega Gardevoir had fallen without getting up, she had cried tears of joy for her son. On top of that, watching Ash declare that he would not be replacing Diantha as Champion had made her even more proud.

Within the next five years, Ash continued traveling the intricate world of Pokemon with his beloved Pokemon partner, Pikachu. He returned to the Battle Chateau and climbed the ranks, all the way up to Grand Duke. He also visited his old Pokemon friend, Goodra, who was thriving happily in its homeland with Florges and the other Pokemon living there.

Ash didn't forget about the other regions, either. He traveled through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova, visiting his old traveling companions and other friends there. He even paid a brief visit to the Orange Islands, where he participated in multiple exhibition matches. After all, everyone was dying to have a battle with the one who defeated Diantha, who was arguably the most powerful champion in the world.

Now? Now, Ash is just relaxing in his home region, the beautiful land of Kanto. After several years of straight traveling, he decided that he needed to take it easy for a little while.

– –

~ Cerulean City, Kanto ~

"Wow, Oshawott is so cute!" Misty exclaimed, petting Oshawott on the head. The Sea Otter Pokemon relished the attention.

Ash smiled. "Yeah, I thought you'd like to see some of my Water-type Pokemon. Here, check this one out!" he said, tossing a Pokeball into the air. In a flash of white light, out came Greninja, who stealthily landed on the ground, hardly making a sound.

Misty marveled at Greninja's strong and slim body, admiring its long tongue and swift movements.

"Wow, Ash...you've certainly been busy since we last traveled together," Misty said, smiling at her old traveling companion. _I wonder if he's met any girls on his travels...or if he even has an interest in them yet,_ she thought to herself.

Back in the old days, Misty used to have a mild crush on Ash. Gradually, however, her feelings had slowly dwindled to what she believed her relationship with Ash should be: friendship. Nothing more. Still, he was like a little brother to her, and she constantly worried about him.

Ash nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, definitely...I've met a whole bunch of Pokemon and people that I wish you could meet! Plenty of other Gym Leaders like you, and even a Pokemon Performer..." his voice trailed off as he mentioned that last part. _I wonder if she thinks about me as much as I think about her..._ he silently wondered.

Misty noticed a hint of melancholy in his voice. "Oh, I've never heard of Performers. What do they do?" she asked casually.

"Well, they compete in Pokemon Showcases, where they do a bunch of things to show off the aesthetic aspects of their Pokemon. Ultimately, they're all trying to become Kalos Queen, who's basically the best out of them all," Ash briefly explained. His interest in Pokemon Performing was relatively limited; the only reason he ever cared for them at all was because of Serena.

Misty nodded, trying to seem nonchalant about the subject. "So, what's her name?" she asked.

Ash looked up and blinked a couple of times. "What? Who's name?"

Laughing a little, Misty rephrased her question. "The Performer you traveled with. What's her name?"

Ash was about to answer when he heard his Holo Caster ringing. He took the device out of his pocket and initiated the recording. In seconds, he was looking at a Holographic form of Diantha, the Champion of Kalos.

"Who's that?" Misty asked.

Ash remained silent as he listened to the call.

"Hello Ash, I'm sorry, but I don't have a lot of time to explain. Siebold has just intercepted a member of Team Aqua snooping around the coast of Geosenge Town. We forced him to tell us what he was doing, and...well, it doesn't sound good. For all we know, the entire Kalos region could be...well, nevermind. Just, I need your help. You're the true Champion of Kalos, Ash, you really are...we need you."

And with that, the hologram vanished.

– –

~ Shalour City, Kalos ~

It's a cool, calm morning as the sun is just rising above the horizon. Gym Leader Korrina and her lifelong partner Lucario are currently on their daily morning run, jogging at an impressive pace alongside the beach of Shalour City.

Suddenly, the Aura Pokemon stopped running and stared at the water intently, as if waiting for something to pop out.

Korrina stopped running and looked over at her Pokemon. "What's wrong, Lucario?" she asked.

Without answering, Lucario continued to stare at the calm water. It closed its eyes and held up its paw towards the water.

"Lucario, what are you doing?" Korrina asked.

Lucario released an Aura Sphere straight towards the water without responding to Korrina. It made a splash, scattering a few Magikarp and Luvdisc away. But the sound it made was unnatural. It had hit something. Something hard.

Korrina scanned the surface of the water, trying to get a glimpse of anything beneath it.

Within seconds, an entire submarine floated up to the surface, with a large dent on its exterior. Korrina and Lucario both took a step back.

"What the hell is a lone submarine doing out here?" Korrina said as she cautiously kept her eye on it.

Then, as if on cue, another submarine surfaced just next to the first one. Soon after that, another one came up next to that one.

Before long, there was a dozen of them, all lining the water surrounding the Tower of Mastery. Strangely dressed people started getting out of them and walking onto the sand, each one with at least one Pokeball in his or her hand.

Korrina stood her ground, unwilling to back down. "Okay, just who are you guys? And what the hell are you doing in my town?" she shouted. Lucario stood by her, steadfast and ready for a fight.

A woman who seemed to be the leader among them stepped up. "That's none of your business, girl. Well, actually, I suppose it is...after all, we'll be occupying this town from now on, but nonetheless...you should just run now before things get ugly," she said arrogantly, her smirk infuriating the Shalour Gym Leader.

Korrina gripped her hands into fists. "Like hell I will! Lucario, Mega Evolve!" she said as she placed two fingers on her Key Stone. Streams of light appeared between her and Lucario as the latter began to transform, growing larger physical features. As the light faded, the symbol of Mega Evolution hovered in the air as Mega Lucario stood firmly between its trainer and the strange people.

Aqua Admin Shelly smirked again, tossing her Pokeball into the air. "You should've run when you had the chance, sweetie...but now it's too late."

– – – –

End of Chapter 1. What'd you guys think? Good? Bad? Is it worth continuing? Let me know your thoughts in the reviews! Sorry if this seemed short, but I am hard pressed for time at the moment. Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you'll stay tuned; this story is about to get a lot more interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone, I'm glad to see that you enjoyed the first chapter enough to come back! I didn't have much homework today, so I managed to spend a couple hours writing this up for you. This is a pretty rare occasion though, since school is starting to pick up now. You can pretty much count on update intervals being about three days up to a week. Anyways, thanks for coming back and enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 2: The Rally

~ Pewter City, Kanto ~

"Geodude, use Rock Throw!"

"Sudowoodo, use Hammer Arm to counter it!"

Tommy's Geodude formed a rock in its hands and chucked it as forcefully as it could towards Brock's Sudowoodo, who simply smashes it to pieces with a powerful Hammer Arm attack.

"Oh no!" Tommy shouted, taking a step back.

Brock felt a little guilty about going hard against his younger brother, but his inner pride as a former Gym Leader was taking over.

"Sudowoodo, finish this with Double Edge!" Brock commanded.

Geodude wasn't quick enough to dodge, and the hit was just too powerful for it to handle. Sudowoodo slammed into the poor Rock Pokemon full force, knocking it out. That was Tommy's last and only Pokemon.

Forrest raised his right hand up high. "Geodude is unable to battle! Sudowoodo is the winner, which means the victory goes to Brock!" he announced.

Tommy smiled and knelt beside his exhausted Geodude, his very first Pokemon that he had caught himself on Mt. Moon. "Geodude, you were awesome. I know next time, we'll definitely be able to win!"

Brock smiled at his younger brother, who had just turned ten and was old enough to start his Pokemon journey. In fact, today was the day he would be leaving for Pallet Town to talk to Professor Oak.

He heard clapping on the sidelines, and turned to see who it was. Ash, Pikachu, and Misty were all sitting on the bleachers smiling at him.

"I didn't see you guys come in! How've you two been?" Brock asked, walking up to greet them. Then he addressed Pikachu, saying, "I'm sorry, how've you three been?"

Ash laughed and shook Brock's hand. "It's been a while, Pokemon Doctor Brock. I'm glad we caught you at home, I was worried you'd be off working somewhere," he said.

Misty nodded. "You look well, Brock. And you know, I wish we could stay and chat, but there's something...well, there's something we need to ask you."

~ Lumiose City, Kalos ~

Champion Diantha looked out the window of Prism Tower, deep in thought. She was startled when 12-year-old Bonnie tapped her on the shoulder politely.

"Um, excuse me, Miss Diantha? Is Kalos going to be...safe?" Bonnie asked. Although she had grown up and matured considerably, she still had some of that child-like innocence left inside her. She still carried that little yellow pouch around, just for Dedenne, who was now officially her Pokemon.

Diantha smiled and softly touched Bonnie's cheek. "Have no fear, Bonnie. I will ensure that our home remains intact. And there's someone you know who will be helping me...care to guess who that is?" she asked, her voice calm and collected.

Bonnie tilted her head in wonder. "Uh...Clemont?" she asked. "If it is Clemont, just know that his inventions have gotten a _lot_ cooler! And they only have a 50% malfunction rate!"

Laughing, Diantah shook her head. "Well that's good to hear, but your brother isn't who I was talking about; although Clemont will be a part of this. No, I was talking about Ash, you remember him, don't you?"

Bonnie's face lit up as she ran to go find Clemont, shouting, "Ash is coming back, Ash is coming back! Wait 'til I tell Serena!"

Diantha chuckled as she took out her Holo Caster. She began recording a message to Calem, a fairly strong trainer who happened to be one of Sycamore's assistants.

"Calem, I'm going to need you to meet up with Ash and his companions at the Lumiose Airport and bring them to Prism Tower for me. It is likely that his companions will be coming in on different flights from different regions, so be sure not to leave without anyone. Thank you."

~ Saffron City, Kanto ~

Ash, Misty, and Brock were all at the videophone at the Saffron City Airport. Brock had agreed to accompany Ash to Kalos, since Diantha said that it would definitely be beneficial to have a doctor among the group. Now, the three old friends were making calls to all over the world, recruiting their friends for their cause.

"May, Dawn, Drew, Kenny...I really hate to interrupt your contest, but this is important. Kalos is in trouble...the Champion herself asked me to help her, and I'm gonna need some help of my own. You guys willing to come with us?" Ash asked, getting straight to the point. There was no time to waste.

Kenny frowned. "But Ash, this contest...I don't mean to sound inconsiderate, but it's a pretty big deal. I'm not sure if I wanna just ditch, you know?"

Dawn punched him in the arm. "Kenny, stop it. Ash is our friend, and he needs our help!" she scolded, which was a comical sight considering that Kenny was now significantly taller than Dawn, and her voice was much higher now in comparison.

Drew shrugged, seeming relatively nonchalant about the matter. "I go where ever my beautiful princess goes," he said, smiling at May.

May blushed and giggled a little. "Aw, you're so sweet! Hang on...Kalos is the region of love, isn't it? Drew and I are definitely in!" she said cheerfully. The young couple started kissing right in front of everybody, which wasn't something Ash needed to see.

"Their love is so perfect...its just sickening," Misty joked, though she was right. May and Drew were practically made for each other.

Ash nodded with a smile. "Great. Bring Max if you can, May, I can't wait to see him again. We'll get you the details later...but for now, get a flight for Lumiose City, Kalos. Fast. And Dawn, call up Iris and Cilan for me, will you?"

May and Dawn both responded in the affirmative to their respective requests.

They hung up the phone and proceeded to make several more calls. They reached out to Gary, Trip, and Paul; yes, even Paul. Ash hadn't seen Paul since the Lily of the Valley Conference, and he definitely wouldn't consider him his friend, but...he was strong. And Ash needed strong.

Gary and Trip were both up for it immediately. Beating up bad guys was something they enjoyed doing as much as Ash did. Surprisingly, Paul also agreed to come. Maybe he wasn't so bad, after all. All three agreed to be in Lumiose City within the next couple hours.

And then they were left with one last call. Ash had really been looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. What would Serena think of him, after he had left Kalos and forgotten to get back in touch for five whole years? He had been meaning to call her...he really had been. But as a young kid, his Pokemon and his dream had been his top priority.

Suddenly, the speakers in the airport came on. "Now boarding Flight KS045, now boarding Flight KS045," was being announced.

"Oh no! That's our flight! We're nowhere near the gate! C'mon, let's book it!" Ash shouted, grabbing his bag and heading for the gates. Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and started sprinting beside him. Misty and Brock followed them, leaving a half-dialed number in the videophone.

"But Ash, what about that last call you had to make?" Brock asked as they ran.

Ash hesitated before answering. "It...it wasn't too important," he lied. "I'll, uh, call her when we get there." Which he intended to do. Probably.

They managed to reach the gate just as it was being closed. Getting into their seats, Ash couldn't get his mind off of the Kalos Queen he never got the chance to call.

~ Lumiose City, Kalos ~

May, Dawn, Drew, and Kenny all exited the plane and entered the Lumiose Airport, stretching and yawning from the flight. Dawn noticed a boy about their age with purple hair leaning against the wall.

"Paul?! Just what's an asshole like _you_ doing here?" Dawn exclaimed, shocked that Ash would ask someone like Paul to help.

Paul shrugged. "Ash asked me to come. Maybe I've changed, alright? Don't be so god damn judgmental. You haven't seen me in five years, remember that," he said, although his usual snobby, arrogant tone of voice was gone. It was certainly strange for Dawn to witness.

Kenny frowned. "I still don't trust you. You're still the same shithead to me! I'll bet you sell us out to Team Aqua, Magma, whoever were going up against!"

May looked confused, having never gotten to know Paul. "What's the matter, guys? If Ash asked him to come, then I'm sure there's no reason we can't trust him, right?" she asked them hopefully. Drew nodded in agreement and walked up to Paul.

"We've never met. I'm Drew, and it's a pleasure to meet another friend of Ash's," he said calmly, extending his hand out. Paul nodded and shook his hand.

"Dawn!" a familiar voice shouted from behind them.

The group turned and saw a relatively short girl with big, purple hair and a man with light green hair running towards them. "It's been so long!" Iris said, waving at the blue-haired coordinator. Dawn noticed a somewhat large Pokemon running beside her. _That must be Axew's evolved form..._ Dawn guessed.

Dawn laughed and gave Iris a hug. "It's great to see you, Iris. How've you been? It looks like Axew evolved! That's so cool!"

Iris nodded and smiled. "Yep, it's a Fraxure now, and now I'm one step closer to becoming a Dragon Master! How's your contest coordinating going?" she asked excitedly.

As the two of them continued catching up, another gate opened up with dozens of people walking out of it. Among them were Ash, Misty, and Brock, which brought smiles to everyone else's faces. Except Paul, of course, although he wasn't _dis_ pleased upon seeing his old rival. Everyone greeted Ash and Pikachu with a cheery air about them, though everyone knew why they were all there.

A boy with dark black hair and blue eyes approached Ash. "Hi, are you Ash Ketchum?" he asked formerly.

Ash nodded. "That's me. Who are you?"

The boy introduced himself as Calem, a personal assistant of Professor Sycamore and a good friend of Diantha's. "I'm here to take you all to Prism Tower, where Diantha and the Elite Four will explain the situation," he said, motioning for them to follow him as he started walking.

Ash turned to his friends with his usual friendly smile, trying to maintain a cheerful atmosphere. "Let's go, guys! Lumiose is a beautiful city...you guys are all gonna love it."

~ Pokemon Village, Kalos ~

"Abomasnow, Mega Evolve!"

Wulfric had never imagined he would ever find himself in such a terrible position. He was surrounded, completely surrounded, by no less than twenty men and women in strange red outfits. They looked similar to Team Flare, but Wulfric was sure that Team Flare was gone for good. That was what everyone believed, at least.

A man who appeared to be their leader stepped up and laughed. "An Ice _and_ Grass type? This couldn't get any easier," he said, releasing a mean-looking Houndoom from its Pokeball.

Magma Admin Tabitha wasn't messing around. He had been slowly building up bitter feelings of resentment towards no one in particular. He just wanted people to pay, just as he had.

"Last chance to surrender, old man. And wouldn't you say your beard is gettin' a little too white for you to be wandering around by yourself?" Tabitha said arrogantly, his grunts laughing with him as he ridiculed the Snowbelle City Gym Leader.

Wulfric knew he had no chance in this fight. It pained him to do so, but he knelt and held his hands up in surrender. _I'm sorry, Diantha..._ he thought remorsefully to himself.

Tabitha chuckled. "Smart move, grandpa. You know, I heard from my co-worker that she was opposed by a Gym Leader as well, some sort of blonde roller-skating chick. She refused to surrender, and, well...let's just say she made the wrong choice..."

Wulfric remained silent, shamefully regretting his decision to come here. _I'm sorry Diantha..._

~ Lumiose City, Kalos ~

"Here it is! The pride of Lumiose City, the spectacular Prism Tower!" Calem announced as he led the group inside the massive building. Inside, four people were waiting for them.

"Clemont! Great to see you again, man! How's goes the inventing?" Ash exclaimed.

"I'm doing just fine, Ash, thanks. And I'm happy to announce that Clemontic Gear is now making some great innovational progress! I'll show you some of my inventions when I get the chance.

Ash smiled. "Awesome!"

Bonnie ran up to Ash and gave him a bear hug. "Ash! I haven't seen you in forever!" she shouted. Dedenne came out of its pouch and greeted Pikachu, the two Pokemon exchanging volts of electricity to communicate.

"Bonnie, wow, you've grown! You're a trainer now, right? How's that going?" Ash asked.

"It's so much fun! I've gotten close to beating Clemont a few times!" Bonnie answered proudly.

Clemont laughed and glanced over to Ash, giving him a look that said: _Not really._

Ash laughed in response. He looked around and saw that everyone was getting along with everyone pretty well. Paul and Trip were striking up a conversation together, and Ash's Hoenn companions were getting to know his Unova and Kalos companions.

And then he saw her.

There she was, standing in the doorway of Prism Tower. She was breathtakingly beautiful...she had grown out her honey-blonde hair, and she still wore that pink hat of hers. In addition, to Ash's delight, she was still wearing the blue ribbon he had given her at the Coumarine Festival.

"You made it!" she exclaimed, seeming to be in a cheerful mood.

Ash wasn't sure what to do or say when she started running towards him. Surprised, he started feeling anxious and desperately tried to come up with something to tell her, some sort of explanation. Maybe she was so happy to see him that she had forgiven him for not calling her. Maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright between them.

But she ran right past him, straight into Calem's arms.

– – – –

Plot twist! How'd you guys like this chapter? Interesting yet? As always, I appreciate you telling me your thoughts in the reviews, it really helps me write and gets me motivated. Hope you enjoyed, and have a nice day! Stay tuned for the next chapter...


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, here's the next chapter...enjoy!

Chapter 3: Regret

Ash didn't look back once as he ran towards the elevator. He quickly pushed the button, and luckily it was already there, so he was able to get inside within just a few seconds. He hit the button at the very top to take him to the highest floor.

– –

Bonnie had been playing with Dedenne and some of the other Pokemon when she noticed someone running out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see someone getting into the elevator. It was Ash. She frowned, wondering what was up; she knew Ash well enough that he would be socializing like the others at a time like this.

"Dedenne, you wait here. I'll be right back."

– –

Ash sat down on a bench and stared solemnly out the window, overlooking the fantastically beautiful view of Lumiose City. As the sun began to set, the evening sky was just light enough to see the structure of each building, but it was dark enough to see the millions of lights scattering the city.

If only Ash was in the mood to appreciate it.

He had expected Serena to be sorta mad at him. Sorta. But he hadn't expected her to just forget about him completely...not after she had confessed her feelings for him way back at the end of their journey together.

 _We were just kids..._ Ash thought to himself. _I guess I made something outta nothin'..._

But deep down inside, he knew he was just kidding himself. He _had_ felt something real, and he knew for a fact that she had too, even if they were just kids.

 _I should've just stayed with her...I should've been satisfied with winning the League and just ended my journey, right then and there._

"Ash?"

Startled, Ash quickly looked up from where he sat and saw a young girl with bright blonde hair walking out of the elevator. "Go away, Bonnie," he said, his voice sounding much harsher than he had intended.

Bonnie looked hurt as she nodded her head slowly, wiping a tear from her eye. "I'm sorry, Ash..." she said as she started walking back to the elevator.

Ash sighed. "Come back, Bonnie. I didn't mean to be like that," he said.

Instantly, Bonnie reverted back to her usual chipper self. "Okay!" she said cheerfully, sitting down right next to him.

Ash couldn't help but smile. It was hard not to love this kid; she was so vibrant and enthusiastic about everything.

"So why are you up here?" Bonnie asked casually.

Ash looked back out the window. "No reason, really. I just wanted, uh, some fresh air," he said, knowing how lame and unconvincing he sounded.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You're gonna have to do better than that, Ash...we're still indoors, you know," she said, a small smile playing across her seemingly innocent face.

Ash laughed a little. "Uh, okay, fine...I just wanted to be alone for little bit, that's all," he said. _Damn it,_ he thought. _She's way too smart for that to work._

Bonnie frowned. "I'm too smart for that, you know! Tell me what's wrong! You just ran off as soon as you got here! And you didn't even say hi to Sere-"

"Okay, okay, I get it, I'll tell you, for Christ's sake," Ash said, nearly exasperated. "I guess...I was just a little shocked after seeing Serena and Calem...you know..." he said, his voice trailing off. He didn't quite know what to say. _I can't believe I'm talking to a freaking twelve-year-old about girl problems..._ he thought.

Bonnie smiled sadly and nodded. "I see..." she said, her face expressing sympathy, which Ash absolutely loathed seeing. He hated it when people felt sorry for him for stupid things that were his own fault in the first place.

Ash decided to continue. "I just...I just thought that she wouldn't be mad at me, even though I definitely should've called her..."

"Yeah, she wasn't the only one you lost touch with, you know," Bonnie said, pointing to herself as she spoke.

Ash smiled guiltily. "Yeah, and I should've talked to you and Clemont, too. I guess I was just too obsessed with my Pokemon after I won. I felt like after five losses, that one win was finally bringing me so much closer to my goal."

Bonnie nodded again. "You know, you should be telling Serena all this...not me! I think you should talk to her. It seems like you guys have a lot to say to each other," she said.

As if on cue, the elevator door opened and who else but Serena walked out of it, looking around. "Hey, Ash? Are you up here?"

Ash turned to Bonnie. "Oh, crap! What do I say?" he frantically asked, but he was talking to thin air. Somehow Bonnie had managed to disappear within an instant. Ash wasn't surprised, though; he figured Sanpei and his Greninja had been working with her on her ninja skills.

His thoughts returned to the situation at hand as he saw that Serena noticed him. _Shit,_ he thought. _Shit, shit, shit, I'm not ready for this._

"Ash! I must've missed you down there! How've you been?" the Kalos Queen asked, her arms outstretched for a hug. Their eyes met, and for a second Ash forgot about the world. He forgot about why he was even here, and the danger that threatened the world as they spoke.

He couldn't help but get up and accept her hug, despite his mixed feelings for her. He just wanted to feel her touch again; to be within such intimate proximity of her was exhilarating for him.

"It's...good to see you again, Serena," he said, trying to remain as calm as possible. _Isn't she supposed to be...mad?_

Her smile warmed his heart, like it always had. "You too! It's been so long since we last saw each other, hasn't it? You left right after you won the Kalos League..." she said. Her voice seemed to sound less and less cheerful the more she spoke.

Words betrayed Ash as he struggled desperately to find something to say. "Uh, yeah...I was happy after our journey ended, though, so it hasn't been too hard on me," he managed to say, realizing too late that he didn't word that right. At all. _Nice one, Ash..._ he thought to himself, mentally kicking himself.

Serena looked surprised, and a bit hurt. "Oh...I see..." she said, looking down at the floor. The two of them remained in silence, the air was tense and uncomfortable.

For better or for worse, they were saved from this horribly awkward situation as the elevator door opened once more. Shauna, Mairin, and Alain came out and saw the two childhood friends sitting together.

"ASH!" Shauna and Mairin both shouted simultaneously as they ran over to him and gave him a big hug. Mairin broke away first and stood next to Alain, real close; their shoulders were touching and her hand was in his.

Shauna embraced Ash for much longer, pulling away only after Serena cleared her throat. "Oh! Sorry, are we interrupting?" Shauna asked.

Serena shook her head, forcing a smile at her old rival. "No, not at all, actually I was just leaving. I guess I'll see you all later," she said as she walked back into the elevator. The door closed, and she was gone.

Ash turned to Alain, who he considered to be one of his best friends. "Hey, man. What's up? It's been way too long," he said, shaking Alain's hand.

Alain nodded. "Sure has, Champion Ash," he said with a knowing smile. He and Ash had faced each other in the final match of the Kalos League, the battle coming down to the wire with Alain's Charizard against Ash's Charizard.

Shauna sat unusually close to Ash as she spoke. "You look good, Ash!" she said flirtatiously, winking at him.

Ash blushed a little at the compliment. "Uh, thanks, Shauna! You look great, too," he said. And he meant it; Shauna looked gorgeous. She wore a revealing pink top and her usual high-cut short-shorts that had every guy staring.

Mairin still held Alain's hand as she turned to Ash. "How come Serena left? She looked kind of upset," she said. "Is something wrong?"

Ash looked down. "Nah, everything's alright, Mairin. Why would she be upset? She has no reason to, I mean she has her performing and now she has a boyfriend, and-"

Alain laughed a little. A lighthearted, good-natured laugh. "Maybe she's not upset...but I sure as hell can see that you are," he said.

Shauna's face expressed genuine concern as she said, "Yeah, I thought you'd be upset about Calem...I would've told you about it before you got here, but I couldn't get in touch with you," she said.

 _God damn it, everyone's getting on my case about not calling them,_ Ash thought. "I'm not upset. She seems happy, so I'm happy for her. I couldn't be happier, actually," he said.

Alain nodded, his expression showing understanding. "Bull shit," he said.

Mairin and Shauna both laughed. "Although I don't condone his language, I have to agree with Alain," Mairin said. "Sweetie, don't swear, it's not very attractive," she softly scolded him on the side.

Ash couldn't help but smile at them. He was lucky; he had some pretty damn good friends. He promised himself to always keep in touch with them from this point on.

Shauna started to speak when the elevator door opened again. This time, Misty and Gary walked out and happily acknowledged the four trainers before them. Gary was holding his head in his hands, looking like he was in pain.

"Ash, Diantha is down on the first floor. She's ready to give us a little briefing, but she insisted that you be there," Misty said.

Ash nodded. "Thanks, Misty, we'll come down with you. And what the hell happened to you, Gary?" he asked.

Gary laughed a little. "Well, I kinda slipped and fell in the elevator and banged my head pretty badly against the railing. Nothing major, though, don't you worry Ashy boy," he said, still holding his head.

"He claims there was some water on the floor," Misty said, chuckling.

"There was! I swear to Arceus there was!" Gary shouted. Everyone laughed as they got into the elevator and descended to the first floor.

When they entered the main hall, everyone was relatively quiet. There were a few whispers here and there, but for the most part no one was talking.

 _Oh, shit,_ Ash thought. _I guess the situation must be looking pretty grim._

Diantha's expression looked very grim, indeed. She smiled weakly at Ash as they exchanged a silent greeting.

They joined the crowd of trainers and waited for Diantha to speak. Ash found Brock, Dawn, and Kenny and stood by them. He furtively glanced at Serena, who was standing next to Calem.

For one, long minute, Diantha didn't speak a word. She just stood there, in front of everyone, looking every individual trainer in the eye for a brief moment each.

"I want to thank you all for coming here," she said. "And I can only pray that you won't regret it."

– – – –

That's the end of the chapter! What is Serena thinking, and what is she truly feeling? What are Shauna's feelings towards Ash? Are they mutual in even the slightest way? Was there really water on the elevator floor? Stay tuned to find out! As always, leave your thoughts and comments in the reviews for me! Thanks for reading, everyone.


	4. Chapter 4

ey guys, I know this is short, but I just really wanted to get a quick chapter in before the week started since I won't be able to write at all this week (I procrastinated on some AP summer work and I gotta cram it all in before this Friday). So wish me luck on that! I'll be doing schoolwork everyday from the end of soccer practice til I go to bed :( Anyways, enjoy the chapter...

Chapter 4: Reminiscence

Serena watched Ash walk out of the elevator with Shauna, Mairin, and Alain. Then she watched as Ash stood by Brock, Dawn, and a boy who's name she did not know, but who she assumed was Dawn's boyfriend. Shauna stood next to them as well, next to Ash.

 _Why is she standing so close to him?_ Serena wondered. Shauna's shoulder was lightly grazing against Ash's, who didn't seem to mind at all.

Serena shook her head and returned her attention back to the Champion, who had just begun speaking.

"I want to thank you all for coming here," she said. "And I can only pray that you won't regret it."

Diantha's first two sentences were short, simple, and powerful. Immediately, everyone began whispering to each other frantically, wondering what could possibly be going on.

"What did she mean by that?"

"Why would we regret coming?"

"Just how dangerous is this gonna be?"

"I swear there were at least three drops on the floor!"

With a solemn expression Diantha raised her hand up high. Within just a few moments, everyone stopped talking and began listening intently again.

"Two Gym Leaders have been reported missing as of two days ago. No one knows where they are, but I have some of my trustworthy members of the Elite Four searching for them as we speak," Diantha continued.

"Who?" Ash suddenly exclaimed. He had, of course, met each Kalos Gym Leader and defeated them all. But he had also bonded with most of them in some way; he had learned something from each of them and became a better trainer and person as a result. After hearing that two were missing, his first thought was to leave and find them.

Diantha looked down slightly. "The courageous, high-spirited Gym Leader of Shalour City and her precious partner Lucario were the first ones to be reported missing. Shortly after, the man who is said to be tough as an iceberg vanished as well. I encourage you all to fear not for them; Siebold and Malva are doing their best to locate them as we speak."

 _Korrina..._ Ash thought.

"We have to go find them!" Ash and Serena both blurted out.

Everyone turned to either Ash or Serena as the two of them realized that they had talked in unison. It was a little hard to notice, but both of them were blushing slightly.

Ash glanced at Serena and their eyes met. Again, Ash forgot about everything else in existence; he almost forgot about where he even was. All that mattered was that she was there, safe.

Shauna gently took hold of Ash's arm in an effort to comfort him. Noticing this, Serena quickly looked away, trying not to be bothered by Shauna's gesture.

Diantha smiled sadly. _Such brave souls...impetuous, but brave nonetheless..._

She cleared her throat. "Ash and Serena, I admire your courage, but I will need all of you to be patient and bear with me. Perhaps eventually you will end up saving Korrina and Wulfric, but for now...we have a lot on our hands as it is."

– –

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

Siebold set foot on the shore of the Sea Spirit's Den, an ancient cave said to be the home of a Legendary Bird Pokemon.

But the cave was no longer there. In its place stood a large building, rising about three stories above the ground. Siebold cautiously approached it as his mind rapidly raced with thoughts. _What the hell is this place?_ he thought. Suddenly, he heard voices coming from inside.

"Sir, the Legendary Bird Pokemon finally gave up and fled; the area is secure and the facility has almost reached completion."

"Good work, good work. Is our subject still sleeping?"

The grunt nodded. "Yes, sir, it wont awake for another few hours. We are still figuring out how to force it to undergo Primal Reversion, however."

"That's fine, but hurry. We need it battle-ready in two days' time. I don't wanna disappoint Archie...especially after Shelly succeeded in capturing that blonde chick," Aqua Admin Matt said.

"Yes, sir. And shall we send a search party for the Legendary Bird?" the grunt asked.

Matt laughed and shook his head. "Nah, forget about that thing. It won't matter once we execute the plan, as long as Tabitha and Courtney don't fuck up."

Siebold had heard everything as he stood outside the building's entrance. He quickly took out his Holo Caster when suddenly a big, meaty hand grabbed him by the collar.

"What do we got here? Admin Matt, we've caught a spy!"

Siebold's eyes widened with fear. _Shit,_ he thought. _Diantha has to know about this..._

He was trying to quickly come up with an escape plan when Aqua Admin Matt snatched up the Holo Caster in his hand, laughing menacingly.

"Well, well...the great Siebold of the Elite Four. I'm honored that you decided to pay a visit to our little hideout here. I apologize, I know it's not much to look at," he said mockingly, handing the Holo Caster to one of the grunts. "Take this and bring it to my office. I have a feeling we'll be able to make good use of it later."

– –

"What?!" Ash, May, Max, and Brock all shouted.

Diantha nodded. "Yes...we don't know why, but both Team Aqua and Team Magma have returned...we don't where they are, but they could be anywhere..."

"Man, I thought beating the shit outta them the first time was good enough," Ash said angrily, his hands gripped into fists.

"Ash, May, Max, and Brock: I understand that you've fought them before. And that is exactly why I've asked you to help," Diantha said. "You four will come with me to the top of the tower, where we will discuss the situation and form a plan. The rest of you may go."

The four Hoenn traveling companions nodded and headed to the elevator with Diantha. The rest of the trainers immediately began talking about the situation. The atmosphere was tense, but somewhat exciting as well. The anticipation of a huge battle consisting of dozens of trainers was exciting, no matter how much danger the world was in. In fact, the danger of it made it all the more exhilarating to think about.

Clemont decided that he should work on his latest invention, which was something that he had been keeping a secret for a very long time. This hadn't stopped Bonnie from finding out, however; Sanpei had taught her how to conceal herself and spy on others. She knew what it was, but she hadn't told anyone. Yet.

Dawn and Kenny left to go for a walk through the streets, just to get a bit of relaxation time in before Ash and the others presented them with a plan. The lights of Lumiose made it a very romantic scene for the young coordinator couple, and they wanted to enjoy every moment of it.

Gary and Paul were having a battle on the Lumiose Gym battlefield, attracting numerous spectators. Gary's Umbreon and Paul's Electivire were fiercely competing to see who was the stronger of the two.

Serena found herself staring off into space after Ash had gone up the elevator with the others. She thought about how just fifteen minutes ago, she had been holding him in her arms again, and how she didn't want to let go. She felt a sense of guilt as she looked at Calem, who was busy talking to Tierno and Trevor.

After Shauna had interrupted their awkward conversation at the top of the tower, Serena had walked away feeling a little jealous. She had thought she was completely over Ash, but seeing Shauna flirt with him irritated her to no end.

When she had gotten into the elevator, she found herself crying. Her tears had fallen to the floor as she gripped her hands into fists. She stopped the elevator on one of the middle floors so she could cry alone without anyone hearing.

Everything about him made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. His dreamy eyes, his messy black hair, the hat that covered it, his amazing smile, and his selfless personality...made Serena wonder why she ever got over him.

She could only come to one conclusion, one explanation: she never had.

"Serena?"

Serena almost jumped into the air when Misty approached her, snapping her out of her little daydream.

"You're Serena, right? The one who spoke up at the _exact_ same time as Ash did?" Misty asked, a slight smile playing across her face.

Serena blushed and nodded. "Yep, that's me! And I guess that was just a crazy coincidence, haha!" she said nervously. _Arceus, I must sound so weird right now..._

Misty looked skeptical. "Mhm. Yeah..." she said. "So anyway, I hear you've known Ash since you were little kids. That's so cute! It's great that you two are still good friends."

Serena shifted her foot back and forth. "Um...yeah...well we're not exactly as close as we used to be..." she said.

"Oh? Why not?" Misty asked.

"I-I don't really feel like talking about it...I have a boyfriend now, and I just want to think about other things," Serena said.

Misty laughed a little. "Now, hang on. I didn't say anything about boyfriends," she said. "So _now_ I'm guessing you and Ash had a little...something going on, hm?" she asked, smiling.

 _Shit,_ Serena thought. _I'm an idiot. Why does she wanna know about Ash anyway?_

Serena sighed and said, "Well...sort of. See, I had the biggest crush on him when we were younger. I saw him on a news report in Lumiose City and I instantly remembered him...in fact, I left home and started my journey just because I wanted to see him again."

Misty nodded. "That's so sweet! So he remembered you too, right?"

Serena smiled a little as she recalled the events of the past. "At first, he didn't...I was devastated. But when he finally did remember me, I instantly set my heart on him. It was only after he had won the Kalos League when I had the courage to admit my feelings for him..."

"That is so cute...you should tell May and Drew the whole story, they live for romance," Misty joked. Then she glanced at Calem and frowned. "So then what the hell is he doing in your life? Instead of Ash?" she asked.

"Well after a few years without hearing from Ash at all, I-"

"Whoa, stop right there. Why even let Ash leave? If you guys liked each other, why didn't you continue traveling together?" Misty interrupted.

Serena looked down. "I...I chose to continue performing...and since they only have showcases in the Kalos region, I had to stay here. I really, really wanted to go with Ash, I really did..." her voice trailed off, and Misty could tell Serena truly meant everything she was saying.

"Oh, right! I totally forgot you were a performer. I see. Believe it or not, I was in a situation not unlike yours when I was traveling with Ash," Misty said.

Looking up, Serena looked genuinely curious. "Really? You were?"

Misty nodded and smiled. "I used to have a crush on Ash, too, you know. He was cute, funny, and so determined...he still is, of course. But I don't know what it is, it's just...I don't see him in that way anymore. He's like a brother to me...and I'll always love him, just not in that way. Get what I mean?" Misty asked.

Serena shook her head. "Honestly, I really don't..." she said, smiling a little. "But I appreciate you telling me that. Did you ever tell Ash how you felt?"

This time Misty shook her head. "Nope. I never did. Who knows, maybe if I had, things would be different...but I know in my heart that we're better off as friends."

"Oh...I see," Serena said.

They were interrupted by loud cheering coming from the battlefield. Paul's Electivire had fallen, with Gary's Umbreon standing over it, victorious.

Dawn and Kenny had just walked in the entrance, hand in hand. They were smiling and laughing about something.

Serena noticed Misty staring. She followed her eyes and realized that she was looking right at Gary. She decided not to say anything about it, though.

At that moment, the elevator door opened with Ash, May, Max, Brock, and Diantha coming out of it. Their faces looked grim, but something about Ash's demeanor made everyone think that they definitely had a solid plan.

Misty waved to Serena. "It was nice meeting you, Serena," she said. "I hope we get the chance to talk again."

Serena nodded. "Y-yeah! Thanks for everything," she said, walking over to Calem and standing next to him.

Ash began to explain their ideas and what actions they entailed. Serena wasn't paying any attention, though...she was too focused on Ash himself.

She hadn't gotten the chance to really look at him yet. He was taller, a little more muscular, but still had that relatively lean body she liked. His hair was the same, which she absolutely adored. And as usual, Pikachu was on his shoulder.

 _Oh Arceus..._ she thought. _I'm nowhere near over him..._

– – – –

So the secret is out...there _was_ water on the elevator floor! Haha anyways, leave a review for me if you want to share any thoughts and opinions on this chapter or just this story in general. I can't stress enough how much reviews help. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

I apologize in advance for the brevity of this chapter. I just can't find any time at all to write these days. Anyways, enjoy and leave a review if you have any thoughts whatsoever. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 5: Deceived

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

"Sir, there is a strange-looking man waiting outside. He claims he has an appointment with you."

Aqua Admin Matt smiled and nodded his head. "Ah, yes, let him in, he will be able to provide valuable assistance to help with our plan," he said. The grunt nodded and immediately left, opening the main entrance.

A man with long, shaggy black hair entered Matt's office with a smile on his face. "Hello, I am Professor Sycamore, it's a pleasure to be here with you fine folks," he said.

Matt rolled his eyes. "For Arceus' sake, you're so fucking immature. I know it's you," he said.

The man who claimed to be Professor Sycamore laughed. "Ah, I see the great Aqua Admin is sharp as his Sharpedo," he said as he quickly removed his disguise. Underneath a black wig and a white lab coat was a man with purple hair in a black suit. A large red 'R' was printed in the center of his uniform.

Matt was not amused. "I have no time for games, Petrel. You have something that we need," he said.

Petrel nodded his head proudly. "Indeed I do, Admin. It is my most prized possession, and I've treasured it since I was just a young boy."

"Whatever, let's just see it then," Matt said, growing impatient with Petrel's relatively laid-back attitude.

Petrel chuckled. "You need to lighten up," he said as he brought out one of his Pokeballs.

– –

~ Terminus Cave ~

"Admin Courtney, Zygarde has fled and the chamber is secured."

"Hm. I would have preferred if you had captured Zygarde, but no matter...as long as Matt and Shelly do their part, we will have everything at our disposal," Magma Admin Courtney said.

Team Magma had done a lot of work over the past recent months. Groudon had been difficult to contain, but the sedatives seemed to be working fine to keep it from breaking out, for now. Now all they had to do was force it to undergo Primal Reversion, something their slightly more scientifically-oriented allies have been nearing completion with.

Behind a rock, a woman with bright pink hair eavesdropped on the conversation. She was listening so intently that she failed to notice the Houndoom who stood three feet away from her, baring its fangs and growling menacingly.

"Well, this is a surprise," Magma Admin Tabitha said, chuckling as he and a few other Team Magma members gathered and surrounded Malva completely.

– –

~ Lumiose City ~

Everyone immediately gathered around as Ash, May, Max, Brock, and Diantha stood together on the Gym floor.

Ash tried his very best to avoid looking at Serena forcing his eyes to look at other people. He glanced at Misty, who smiled at him warmly. Iris and Cilan both nodded at him encouragingly.

May was staring into Drew's eyes, each of them entranced simply by the other's presence.

Max couldn't describe what he was currently feeling. The girl he was looking at just seemed to capture his attention without even doing anything in particular. She was holding a small, orange Pokemon that looked a lot like Pikachu.

Dawn felt slightly anxious as she firmly held Kenny's hand, who held her close reassuringly.

Tierno leaned in closer to Trevor. "Dude...that girl in the green is hot," he said. Trevor nodded, then pointed at Drew and whispered back, "But I think she's with that guy over there."

Shauna tried her best to get Ash's attention as everyone waited for them to begin speaking. She played with her hair and kept shifting her feet around in an attempt to show off her legs.

Diantha raised her hand up high, which immediately quieted everyone else in the room. She maintained a serious expression as she said, "Thank you all for being so patient. I have discussed the situation in great detail with Ash and his companions. Ash, you may take it from here."

Ash nodded and took a step forward. He looked around the room and saw at least a dozen faces looking up at him expectantly, as if he was their savior or something. As if he had all the answers...

Public speaking wasn't something Ash was exactly good at, but he wouldn't say it was a weakness either. He supposed that more often than not, he knew what to say and it was all purely derived from instinct. He began with, "As you all know, Siebold and Malva went searching for Korrina's and Wulfric's kidnappers. We're still waiting on their reports, but we know for sure that one team should be somewhere around Shalour City, and the other around Snowbelle City."

He cleared his throat before continuing. "I'm just gonna get straight to the point here. Team Magma and Team Aqua are both on opposite sides of the entire Kalos region, doing who knows what over there. Our plan is to split up and take 'em out before they can even make a move."

Nods and whispers scattered among the crowd, excitement in the air.

Ash cleared his throat again to get everyone's undivided attention. "Okay. So...Team Magma. Pretty self-explanatory, isn't it? Fire-types. They like fire-types a lot. I want Misty, Brock, Dawn, Kenny, and Tierno to take them on. And we'll let you guys come up with a team name, for ease of reference."

The aforementioned trainers all nodded their heads. Then they spent about a minute of debating and arguing (mostly between Dawn and Kenny). After Piplup insisted that the team be named after him, they decided to be, 'Team Piplup'.

May smiled and stepped up next to Ash. "Team Aqua uses primarily water-types, so we decided that Drew, Cilan, Clemont, and Bonnie should be our best bet against them," she said.

Bonnie jumped for joy. "Yay! I say we call our team, 'Team Dedenne'!"

Those who didn't have their name called started looking around in confusion. "Uh...is there another team or something?" Gary asked.

Ash chuckled a little. "Nah, don't worry, if we didn't call your name that means we think you're versatile enough to go either way. So that includes Gary, Max, Iris, Paul, Alain, Mairin, Shauna, Trevor, Serena, Calem, May, and myself," he announced. "I know you're all strong and capable of great things, and I can depend on you."

Serena was a little surprised. _He knows I'm a performer, right? But...he still thinks I'm strong,_ she thought to herself.

Gary stepped up first. "Blastoise is my main partner, so I think I'll go with Team Piplup," he said.

"I'm going with Team Dedenne," Paul said. Electivire, who was still out of its Pokeball, nodded and followed its trainer.

Everyone else made their decision shortly afterward. May decided to go with Team Piplup, and Max joined Team Dedenne so that he could be closer to Bonnie. _I'm going to talk to her, if it's the last thing I do,_ he thought.

Alain, Iris, and Trevor all decided to go with Team Piplup. Mairin, Shauna, and Calem decided to join Team Dedenne.

Serena stepped up next to Calem. "I'll go with Team Dedenne!" she said enthusiastically.

Calem looked skeptical, then chuckled a little. "Whoa, wait, Serena. This is kind of a thing for battle-oriented people. A performer like you should stay behind; it's too dangerous," he said.

Serena looked shocked. "Excuse me? Are you calling me weak?" she angrily exclaimed.

Ash didn't know why, but he stepped in immediately. "Calm down, everyone. No reason to argue here," he said, but the couple wasn't willing to calm down.

Calem sighed. "Serena...you don't battle very often. Who knows what could go wrong? I can't be there to protect you all the time, I have to focus on the battle myself," he said.

"I'm sorry, did I _ask_ for your protection?" Serena challenged. Someone in the crowd said, "Oh shit!" relatively quietly. Gary shouted, "I've got a Rawst Berry if you need one, Calem!" This received laughs from around the room.

"Serena, you can come, don't worry. It's not up to him," Ash said in an attempt to quell her rage.

"Hey, you stay outta this, Ketchum," Calem said, stepping between Ash and Serena.

"No, you stay out of this," Serena retorted, pushing Calem aside as she walked over and stood next to Bonnie. "As I said before, I'm with Team Dedenne, Ash," Serena said.

Ash nodded, trying his best to not punch Calem in the face. "Then that's settled. Now we just have to wait for a report from Siebold or Mal-"

As if on cue, he was interrupted by Diantha's Holo Caster. "Ash, I'm receiving an audio recording from Siebold! That means he's found them," Diantha said. She initiated the message, and Siebold's voice began speaking.

"Diantha, I've located Team Magma. They are hiding in the Sea Spirit's Den, and they have Groudon with them. Malva has just reported to me that she has found Team Aqua, who is currently containing Kyogre within the deepest chamber of Terminus Cave. We will await your arrival; please hurry."

And with that, the audio recording ended. No one in the room spoke; the mention of Groudon and Kyogre seemed to have an intimidating effect on them.

Ash was the first to break the silence. "Well then that's it. Team Piplup, you guys head to the Sea Spirit's Den. Team Dedenne, you go to Terminus Cave. Alain, Diantha is going with you...make sure you keep her safe. I'm counting on you," Ash said. Alain nodded in response.

"Make sure Mairin stays out of trouble," he replied with a smile. Mairin laughed and embraced him, the boy she had gone through so much with. They were about to relive their experience with the Primal Reverted Legendaries.

Ash laughed and nodded, then turned to the rest of the group. "I'm going with Team Dedenne. Everyone...thank you for being brave enough to fight with us. It's great to see all of you again, and I wish we could stick together and catch up, but...saving the Kalos Region and rescuing our friends comes first."

– –

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

Laughter echoed through the dim hallways as Siebold lay in the corner of his cell. He cursed under his breath, praying to Arceus that Diantha and her team of youths would be okay.

In his office, Aqua Admin Matt was still speaking with Rocket Executive Petrel.

"So, did I do the job well enough for ya, or what?" Petrel asked with a smirk.

Matt nodded with a smile as he held Siebold's Holo Caster in his hand. "Yes, I'm very pleased. I must say, this Pokemon is an exceptional specimen," he complimented.

Petrel's Murkrow replied, "Yes, I'm very pleased. I must say, this Pokemon is an exceptional specimen!"

– – – –


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Lorekeeper

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

"The Hoenn region? But...we already have Kyogre and Groudon. What could you possibly need from their home region?" Petrel inquired.

Aqua Admin Matt's expression did not change. "There is a very important girl who lives there. I don't have the time to tell you why...just bring her to me. You have proven to be a valuable ally in this ordeal, Petrel...and I assume you'd like to maintain that reputation."

– –

~ Azure Bay ~

Team Piplup was quickly flying their way to the Sea Spirit's Den on the backs of Dawn's Togekiss, Iris' Dragonite, and Alain's Charizard. Everyone was excited and they were all confident that they would be able to take down Team Magma.

"Wow, Alain, your Charizard is really something!" Trevor shouted amongst the powerful winds breezing past them.

Alain smiled and nodded his head. "Thank you. We take great pride in our strength. Not tryna sound cocky, though," he said. Although he seemed composed on the outside, inside he felt overwhelming feelings of stress and concern. It had been a long while since Mairin had ever done anything dangerous, and back then he had been with her. Now, he had no idea what could be happening to her. He knew she was strong, and she had matured considerably...but he still couldn't help but worry about her safety.

Diantha remained relatively silent as she stared off into the distance behind them. Perhaps she was concerned about leaving Kalos' capital city guarded only by Professor Sycamore, who wasn't much of a battler. Or, perhaps she worried for Ash and his companions, wishing that she could be with both teams at the same time. Whatever it was, it was not apparent to anyone else in the group.

As she flew on the back of her Dragonite, Iris began to feel slightly uncomfortable from being within such close proximity with Dawn's Togekiss. She had gotten over her fear of Ice-types years ago, only to learn when she was twelve that a new type had been discovered, one that completely shut down the Dragon type. Yes, as childish as it may seem, she now had a newborn fear of Fairy-types.

May seemed to be a little more on the quiet side at the moment, in contrast to her usual chipper self. Dawn and Brock both seemed to notice this. Dawn called over to her, "Hey, May! Something the matter?"

May looked up and shook her head. "No, no need to worry, Dawn!" she teased, winking.

Dawn laughed. "That's _my_ catch phrase!" she said as she turned and continued the conversation she had been having with Kenny.

May smiled at her fellow Pokemon coordinator, but then immediately went back to staring at the water below them, deep in thought. _Why would Team Magma come out to a place like this?_ she wondered. _It doesn't make sense..._

Misty pointed and shouted, "Over there! I think I see a building!"

Gary looked up from his Pokedex, trying his best to see through the clouds. "I think you're right, Misty. Maybe this is their hideout or something," he said. In the distance, a faint outline of a huge structure was coming into view.

"How will we land without being detected?" Trevor asked, holding his camera in his hands, which were trembling slightly with anticipation.

Alain frowned. _Shit,_ he thought. _I didn't think about that part._

Brock noticed a cluster of large rocks in the water to their right. He pointed them out, shouting, "Over there! We can land and swim the rest of the way!"

– –

~ Lavaridge Town, Hoenn ~

"Sweetie, your grandmother's bones are ailing her, I must take a long rest in the hot springs. I will be back soon to make dinner."

"Okay, Grannie!"

Smiling at her grandchild, the old woman slowly made her way out the front door, headed for the famous hot springs of Lavaridge Town. When the door closed behind her, the teenage girl turned to her beloved Pokemon with excitement in her eyes.

"Hey, Aster...wanna sneak out and have some fun?" she asked, petting her Pokemon on its head affectionately.

As it always had, Aster replied with standard Whismur speech. But the Lorekeeper had come to understand it just as well as the English language.

"Don't worry, we'll be back well before Grannie comes home. From the way she sounded, I can tell she'll be relaxing in the springs for at least a couple hours. That's plenty of time! C'mon, I know you wanna see some more epic battles!" she said encouragingly.

Aster cheerfully nodded her head, unable to resist the excitement of another adventure with her trainer. She followed the girl as they both snuck out the back window of their small house, closing it carefully behind them. They walked out of town unnoticed and began making their way through the woods of Route 112, alongside Fiery Path.

When they reached an isolated clearing, the girl brought out one of her Pokeballs. "Salamence, perform your duties as one of the Draconid!" she exclaimed as she released the Dragon Pokemon from its capsule. Her mighty Salamence appeared, calm and collected. The girl picked up her Whismur and mounted the back of her Salamence, gently petting its rock-solid head. Salamence then took flight, flapping its red, intimidating wings and ascending from the ground below.

"What do you think, Aster? I say we go explore that island this time!" the girl said, pointing at a small island in the distance, just south of the Battle Resort.

Zinnia the Lorekeeper was a free spirit now.

– –

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

"Your Blastoise remind me of an old rivalry I used to have with my friend," Alain said to Gary and Tierno. Everyone else besides Alain had a Water-type of their own that they were using to stealthily infiltrate the Sea Spirit's Den. Alain was on the back of Gary's Blastoise.

"Oh yeah? What's his name?" Gary asked, thinking about his own past rivalry with Ash. _Man, that sure brings back a ton of memories,_ he thought to himself. To this day, he still owned his half of the Pokeball that he and Ash had fought over when they were kids.

Alain smiled. "You've already heard of him: Siebold of the Elite Four. I chose Team Piplup because I want to help save him. He and I go way back...it took me a long time to defeat his Mega Blastoise. See, when I was younger, I traveled the world in search of other trainers who were capable of using Mega Evolution. My goal was simply to defeat every single species of Pokemon that could Mega Evolve. Sadly, I still have yet to reach that goal," he explained, feeling a strong sense of nostalgia.

Gary seemed slightly surprised. "Really? With a Charizard as strong as yours, you still haven't beaten them all?"

Alain nodded with a smile. "Unfortunately, I haven't. There was one Mega Evolved Pokemon that I had numerous chances to battle, but all of them resulted in a loss."

Gary knit his eyebrows, trying to think of a trainer stronger than Alain. "Was it Diantha's Gardevoir? I get the feeling that she's pretty strong," he said.

Shaking his head, Alain was about to reply when suddenly Misty called out, "We're almost there, guys!

"Everyone, stay close! We need to stick together," Kenny called out. _This should be a piece of cake,_ he thought as his Empoleon glided through the surface of the water.

They reached the shore and dismounted their Pokemon. There was a light fog in the air, making it a little difficult to see up ahead, but the humungous facility in front of them was in plain sight. Suddenly, the tiny waves surrounding the island began to grow in size. With each second, the waves began reaching further and further up the shore.

Team Piplup kept taking cautious steps away from the rising waves toward the building ahead. Alain looked around them, noticing that the amount of land was decreasing considerably.

"This isn't right...I thought Team Magma were Fire-type users who controlled the Continent Pokemon. Why is there so much water here?" Alain asked, beginning to think that something was terribly wrong here.

"That's a pretty good question, my friend," a voice spoke from the direction of the building. A voice familiar only to May, and her heart sank. _I knew it..._ she thought, her hands gripped into fists.

"Who's there?" Kenny shouted, his Empoleon standing beside him, battle-ready.

"Yeah, show yourself!" Dawn added. Piplup stood next to Empoleon, raising its chest to look as tough as possible.

Laughter seemed to echo through the air all around them. No, it wasn't echoing...there were more people, people behind them, to their left, and to their right...they were surrounded.

 _Fuck,_ was all Alain could think at the moment. All around them, men and women were closing in, forming a circle around Team Piplup. Trevor shook nervously and dropped his camera. Tierno tried to look tough, but ended up doing a light dance in an attempt to calm his nerves, which must have looked very strange in a situation like that.

Diantha's eyes met Alain's, and they both realized that they were not in the position they thought they would be in.

"C'mon, Team Magma! We're not scared of you! In fact, you should be scared of us!" Gary shouted, turning to the rest of the group. "Guys, what the hell? What's the matter with all of you?"

Misty pointed at the rising tide, which had caught up to them and was swaying violently. "I don't think that's Team Magma, Gary..."

And then they heard the deafening cry of the Sea Basin Pokemon.

– –

~ Lavaridge Town ~

Zinnia snuck back into the house through the window, carefully carrying Aster with her as they closed the window behind them. "Ah, that was fun, wasn't it, Aster?" she said, petting her Pokemon.

She walked into the kitchen to get herself a snack when she saw her grandmother sitting in her usual rocking chair in the corner of the living room.

"Oh! Grannie! I didn't know you were-"

"My dear Zinnia, where have you been? I was worried sick," the old woman replied.

Zinnia frowned a little. "You're...not mad?" she asked cautiously, taking a seat on the couch.

Her grandmother replied, "Oh, no, Zinnia, I'm not mad. In fact, I have some fantastic news!" she said, smiling sweetly at Zinnia.

"What is it, Grannie?" Zinnia asked, only half paying attention. Usually, 'good news' had something to do with hot spring renovation or a new restaurant opening in town...things that Zinnia found little to no interest in.

"Well, I'm not one-hundred percent certain, but I hear that Legendary Pokemon have been sighted in a region not terribly far from here called the Kalos region," the old woman said. "Which leads me to believe that Rayquaza will make an appearance," she added.

Zinnia's eyes lit up. "Wait...Rayquaza? Appearing once more? This is a dream come true! I must go see it for myself! This is exactly what I've been waiting for! As the Lorekeeper of the Draconid people, I _have_ to go see it!"

Her grandmother smiled at her as she held out a small backpack. "I've already packed your things, my dear. Just be safe, and remember, do what's best for yourself!"

Zinnia laughed out of pure joy and hugged her grandmother. "Thank you, Grannie! Thank you! I won't fail you, I promise!"

And with that, she was out the door, with Aster cheerfully following her. "Kalos...a nice name for the birthplace of my reborn destiny," Zinnia said as she mounted her Salamence and took to the skies.

– –

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

Before anyone could react, a huge wave of ocean water swept through the island. Everyone was forced to grab hold of their Pokemon as the powerful force of the current pushed them away from the island.

Kyogre raised from beneath the surface of the water, its massive body causing huge waves to bash Team Piplup repeatedly.

Matt and the entirety of Team Aqua stood on top of their Pokemon, floating beside Kyogre. Although they were fairly shaken up from the wave, Team Piplup had managed to recover and were hanging onto their Pokemon.

The most glaring issue was apparent: How were they going to fight if they were completely surrounded by water?

Matt raised his hands up high with a smirk on his face. "Surprised? I thought you'd be. It's amazing how gullible you people are. It really is. Right about now, you're friends should be running into quite the surprise as well. I wonder how they will fare against Team Magma when their best chances of defeating them are all here?"

Diantha did her best to remain calm, although on the inside she worried for Ash and Team Dedenne.

Alain gripped his hands into fists. "How did you fool us? Siebold himself told us you were at Terminus Cave!"

And then he realized that Siebold had yet to show himself.

"That wasn't Siebold...he wouldn't lie to us, no matter what," Diantha said, her voice beginning to tremble ever so slightly.

Matt laughed. "You're quite right, actually. We couldn't get him to send the message himself, so we...ah, nevermind, it's a long story. Let's just say...we outsmarted you," he said arrogantly, extending his hand outward. "Now, Kyogre, attack!" he commanded.

The battle of Sea Spirit's Den had begun.

– –

~ Lavaridge Town ~

"Zinnia?"

Zinnia's grandmother opened the door to their house, having just come back from a nice bath in the hot springs.

"Zinnia, are you home? I'm sorry I was gone for such a long time. Time flies when you're relaxing, doesn't it?"

But Zinnia wasn't home.

– – – –


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: A Pitfall

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

"How did it go?"

"It went without a hitch; I told you, I'm a master of disguise."

"Good work. Get back here as soon as possible...I have another task for you."

– –

~ Route 18, Kalos ~

Ash's Charizard, his Staraptor, Drew's Flygon, Paul's Honchkrow, and Calem's Pidgeot were soaring through the skies over Route 18, headed for Terminus Cave. Team Dedenne was making great time, and everyone was prepared for the fight of their lives.

Mairin was holding onto Shauna's waist, who was holding onto Ash's on the back of his Charizard. The young, red-headed trainer was arguably the most excited out of them all, but also the most concerned. She knew Alain was strong, but he barely managed to resolve the whole Primal Legendary situation last time...and now Teams Magma and Aqua were involved? She couldn't help but question whether victory was guaranteed.

She tried to take her mind off of it as best as she could. "Hey, Ash. Besides Pikachu, Charizard, and Staraptor, what other Pokemon did you bring?"

From the back of Drew's Flygon, Max called out, "Did you bring any Pokemon you caught in Hoenn, Ash?"

"Yeah, tell us! I'd be really interested to hear," Shauna added cheerfully as she scooted a little closer to Ash.

Ash noticed that Shauna was almost pressed up against him, but he thought it would be rude to mention it. Besides, he couldn't lie to himself; the warmth from Shauna's body was...comforting, to say the least. He smiled and said, "Well, it was really tough to pick just six Pokemon, except for Pikachu, of course. Pikachu is always by my side, right buddy?" he said as he pet Pikachu's tail.

"Chaa!" Pikachu responded, feeling relaxed as he always did whenever someone pet his tail.

As Serena listened to their conversation, she couldn't help but glance over at them. Her cheeks turned slightly red with jealousy when she saw how close Shauna was to Ash. _She is so...Ash would never...ugh! I don't care..._ she thought to herself as she turned away. _It could be worse...at least Shauna's the one behind Ash, and not the other way around..._

"I had to go to good 'ol Professor Oak's lab to see all of my Pokemon in one place. I didn't think about how difficult it would be to choose from them all til' I got there," Ash began as he pictured it all in his head.

*Flashback *

~ Pallet Town, Kanto ~

"Ash, my boy! How have you been? It's been almost a year now, hasn't it?" Professor Oak exclaimed happily as Ash walked into his lab. Ash smiled and replied, "I'm doing alright, thanks Professor. It's been way too long."

A small, blue Pokemon with a green bulb on its back entered the room and saw Ash. Immediately, it ran over to its trainer and jumped into his arms.

"Bulbasaur! I haven't seen you in forever. Still helping out the Professor, right?" Ash said as he hugged the first Grass-type Pokemon he had ever caught.

"Bulba! Bulbasaur!" replied the Seed Pokemon as it hopped down from Ash's arms and greeted Pikachu. Pikachu shook Bulbasaur's vines, as they did the last time they were reunited.

Professor Oak smiled and said, "Yes, Bulbasaur is always ready to make peace between quarreling Pokemon, although over the years they've all come to love and respect each other, so fighting is usually a rare occurrence. They're like one, big, happy family now."

Oak led Ash into the back area, where all of Ash's Pokemon stayed unless he decided to call them up into his party. Ash took a step outside and breathed in the fresh air of Pallet Town. Immediately, he was swarmed by a crowd of Pokemon; all 66 of his Pokemon. He greeted each of them one by one, including his 30 rowdy Tauros.

Seeing all of his Pokemon here made him think about all the adventures and experiences he had gone through with them. He missed those days, the time when he was just a little kid and he traveled from one gym to the next, meeting hundreds of Pokemon. He wished he could spend more time with them here; he loved and cherished them all.

"So Ash, what brings you here to Pallet? I understand that a trainer of your caliber is constantly traveling the world, am I right?" the professor asked.

Ash's expression suddenly turned grim. "I don't much about it yet, but the Kalos region is in some pretty big trouble right now. Diantha herself asked me to come, so I'm here to pick out a team to take to Kalos," he replied.

Oak frowned and stared blankly at the ground, looking as if he was deep in thought. "I see...well, I'd hate to rush you, but clearly there's no time to waste. You must pick six – no, sorry Pikachu...five – Pokemon to take with you."

Ash nodded and turned to face an anxious group of Pokemon, who seemed to sense that something big was up. He could tell they all wanted to be a part of it and smiled weakly at them all, already feeling sorry for the ones he wasn't going to bring.

If he could, he would bring them all. He knew that they were all brave, hard-working, and trustworthy. But today, Ash planned on choosing only the strongest of them. He decided not to say too much here, since it would likely make the others jealous; this was gonna have to be quick and straightforward.

First, he walked up to Charizard, who was wearing its Mega Stone around its neck. "C'mon, big guy. I'm definitely gonna need you for this one," Ash said, stroking its wing.

He then walked over to Sceptile, who stood calmly and confidently, still holding a twig in its mouth like always. "Sceptile...you're coming, too."

Next, he walked past Kingler, Tododile, Corphish, Oshawott, and Palpitoad...right up to the Ninja Pokemon. Greninja silently nodded its head, able to acknowledge that it was selected without needing Ash to say anything.

Then came possibly one of the toughest decisions to make. Ash walked over to Noctowl, Swellow, Staraptor, Unfezant, and Talonflame. He figured he was going to need a good scouting Pokemon, as well as another Pokemon for aerial transport. After a long minute of thinking, he finally decided on bringing Staraptor.

His last pick surprised everyone, and caused some Pokemon to be upset as a result. Even Professor Oak himself questioned Ash's last Pokemon, arguing that it was too inexperienced and that there were better choices. Ash figured he was probably right, but...from the look that this Pokemon gave him at that moment, it practically emanated determination.

*End of Flashback *

~ Route 18, Kalos ~

"Who was it, Ash?" Max asked, curious.

Ash was about to answer when Calem said, "Hey Ketchum, sorry to interrupt, but have you heard anything from Alain yet?"

Ash suddenly remembered where he was. He rummaged through his pack hastily, and after a few moments he said, "He still hasn't responded," as he checked his Holo Caster for the fifth time. He had sent three video messages to Alain, hoping to confirm that Team Piplup had made it to the Sea Spirit's Den safely. Already he was worrying about his friends.

Cilan frowned, stroking his chin with his right hand as he sat on the back of Ash's Staraptor. "Hmm. You don't suppose there's an interference somewhere?" he asked.

Ash shrugged his shoulders. "No clue. I don't know jack shit about science, but I can tell you that Clemont here's pretty much a tech genius. But, uh...he doesn't look too good right now."

Cilan glanced behind him and saw Clemont with his eyes closed, clinging onto the back of Staraptor as if a sudden gust of wind would blow him away at any moment.

"Um, Clemont? Is everything alright?" Cilan asked. To his right, he heard an exasperated sigh from Bonnie.

Clemont simply nodded his head and gave Cilan a shaky thumbs-up. Bonnie laughed at her older brother as she said, "Oh, Clemont. When will you stop being such a baby?"

Ash couldn't help but start cracking up. Back in the day, Clemont and Bonnie had always managed to make him laugh, each in their own way. He heard Serena laughing, too, which meant that she was also thinking about their journey in Kalos.

On the back of his own Flygon, Drew pointed towards a relatively short mountain up ahead. "Over there! Is that it, Ash?" he shouted.

Ash looked through the clouds and remembered the day when he, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie had passed through this area years ago. He nodded and shouted, "Yeah, that's it! Let's land over there!"

– –

~ Uncharted Territory ~

"Look, Aster! See those Pokemon down there? They look pretty cool, don't they?"

Zinnia's Whismur replied cheerfully as it sat in her lap. They were currently flying on the back of Zinnia's Salamence, headed straight for the Kalos region.

The Draconid girl stretched her arms out and breathed in the fresh, sea air. This was just the opportunity she had been waiting for...a chance to redeem herself as a Draconid after failing Rayquaza back then. She blamed her naive and inexperienced self for that...but this time, after years of training, she wasn't even considering failure as a possibility.

This time, she was going to reclaim her legacy.

– –

~ Terminus Cave ~

Clemont sighed with relief as Team Dedenne's transport Pokemon all landed gracefully on the ground. Quick as lightning, he scrambled off of Staraptor's back and kissed the ground, praising Arceus that he was safe and sound. "Oh, the sky is terrifying, absolutely terrifying, thank Arceus we're here...the ground is solid, stable, and reliable...the ground is my friend, the earth is where I'm safest...

"Oh, Clemont, how am I ever going to find a wife for you?" Bonnie said, who seemed to be genuinely exasperated.

Max thought about Clemont's words, thinking hard. _The ground...it's solid, and stable. The earth...this is Groudon's type of place. How would Team Aqua keep Kyogre in a place like this?_

"Alright, let's go!" Ash said, walking towards the cave and past Serena, who began following him. Although he had grown up and matured, he was still impetuous to a degree, which often led to trouble. Trouble was something he could deal with, however, so his recklessness almost never truly harmed him. But would a situation like this be defined so simplistically as mere 'trouble'?

Max spoke up, trying to process all the possibilities. "Ash, wait! I don't think-"

He was interrupted by tremors in the ground beneath them. The trees lining the path all shook, and some of the weaker ones fell down completely.

Cilan shouted, "Simisage, come out!" as he tossed his starter Pokemon's Pokeball into the air. In a flash of white light, the Thorn Monkey Pokemon appeared, ready for action.

Paul was also quick to react. "Ninjask, standby for battle!" he commanded, releasing Ninjask from its Pokeball.

Everyone else followed suit, calling out their Pokemon who could best withstand or avoid the powerful earthquakes.

Ash gritted his teeth. He knew something was up, and now he could pretty much confirm it. Terminus Cave...it was the home of Zygarde, a Ground-type, who also regulates the ecosystem, for Arceus' sake. This was clearly prime turf for Groudon, the Continent Pokemon.

"We were tricked! Siebold betrayed us!" Calem shouted as he desperately held onto his hat.

Clemont struggled to keep his glasses from shaking off of his head. "I don't think Siebold would do that! Something must be wrong, but whatever it is we have to figure out how-"

"Oh, don't worry, you won't have to figure anything out."

Ash and Max immediately recognized that voice. They both looked up and saw Magma Admin Tabitha standing on top of a ledge with at least a dozen grunts beside him.

All around Team Dedenne, more men and women started appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Within seconds, Team Dedenne was surrounded by Team Magma members.

Magma Admin Courtney laughed as she stepped up to face Ash and the rest of the group. "Surprise! We weren't who you were expecting, isn't that right?" she taunted, smiling with mock sympathy. "I must say, it was a good plan to divide yourselves according to your advantages against our two organizations. Clever, clever...but oh, the irony of it all...you thought you had the element of surprise, ha! Groudon, rise!"

The ground began to quake more violently now, knocking Drew, Clemont, Bonnie, Max, Cilan, and Serena off of their feet. Ash instinctively caught Serena before she could fall to the ground, pulling her back onto her feet with his left arm.

"Oh, um...thanks Ash!" Serena said, holding onto her hat.

Ash's cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he realized that they were holding hands. "No...no problem," he replied.

He held her steady as everyone looked up in awe at the massive Pokemon emerging from within the ground, huge chunks of earth flying everywhere as the Legendary Continent Pokemon rose.

Groudon's roar could be heard from miles away.

– – – –


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys, I know that changing your username isn't recommended here, but I just really like this username better than my old one, seeing as how it is also the name I go by on YouTube. Hope you guys don't mind.

Also, I just quickly read through Chapter 7 and noticed all of the glaring spelling/grammar issues...sorry about that, I guess I must have rushed more than I thought I did. I'm pretty sure I fixed them all, but anyways enjoy this next chapter!

Chapter 8: The Recovery

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

Kyogre had not even undergone Primal Reversion yet. Alain hoped that meant that Team Aqua hadn't figured it out yet. Even so, the rain was relentless; definitely not the optimal battling conditions for Charizard.

"It's a shame. Truly, truly, a shame that you absolutely _have_ to stand in our way."

Alain looked helplessly around him at the dozens of people and Pokemon surrounding them. Carvanha snapped their jaws nastily in the water, and above them were countless Zubat and Golbat, whose ear-splitting screeches seemed to echo through the air. His confidence was draining by the second; he wasn't used to being trapped like this. But he knew he had to remember to trust his companions, even if he didn't really know them all that well.

Champion Diantha was not enjoying being half-submerged as she thought about the situation. She had full confidence in Alain and his abilities, and she did not doubt Ash's other companions in the slightest, for she knew that he wouldn't have brought them here if they weren't capable.

To everyone's surprise, it was Team Piplup who initiated the battle. Iris immediately commanded Dragonite to attack Matt's Sharpedo without wasting any time. Dragonite flew straight towards Sharpedo, its entire body surrounded by an aura of draconic power. The build up to the attack was extremely suspenseful, but Sharpedo managed to easily dodge the Dragonite's Dragon Rush.

"Gyarados, I choose you!" Misty shouted, releasing the Atrocious Pokemon from its Pokeball. It landed in the water with an enormous splash, forming a massive wave. "Use Hyper Beam!"

Gyarados' Hyper Beam was powerful enough to knock out two Carvanha with one shot. But just as quickly, two more Carvanha were there in place of those two.

"Marshtomp, come out and use Mud Shot!" Brock shouted as the Mud Fish Pokemon jumped into the water and released a respectable Mud Shot attack.

"Piplup, use Bubblebeam!" Dawn commanded. She would have sent out Pachirisu, but she didn't see it faring well on water.

"We've got to do something about the water!" May shouted, knowing full well that Dawn could be using Pachirisu right now if not for the battlefield. She herself wanted to send out Venusaur, but she safely assumed that it wouldn't be able to swim and battle at the same time.

Kenny stood next to Dawn with a confident air about him, which seemed to calm both trainers somewhat. "Breloom...come on out!" he shouted as he tossed two Pokeballs into the air. "Breloom, ride on Empoleon's back!"

Breloom stood firmly on the back of Kenny's Empoleon as the two Pokemon sped around the island. Breloom launched powerful Energy Ball attacks at multiple Pokemon. It was hit back by relatively weak Water Gun attacks, and Empoleon was too fast for the Golbat to get in close.

Gary nodded and tossed another Pokeball into the air. "Hey, that's a great idea, Kenny! Electivire, hitch a ride on Blastoise's back!"

The Thunderbolt Pokemon appeared and landed on Gary's Blastoise's shell, intimidating every single Team Aqua member as its tails sparked with pure electrical power. It proceeded to obliterate multiple Carvanha and Golbat with its powerful Thunder attacks.

Admin Matt frowned as Team Piplup began sending out more Electric and Grass type Pokemon. _They're more versatile than we thought._

"Team Aqua, stand your ground! We have Kyogre...do not show any hesitation!" Matt commanded. "Kyogre, use Origin Pulse!"

May and Brock both looked surprised. "Well that's new," Brock said as he cautiously watched the Legendary Pokemon.

Kyogre released a massive wave of aquatic power that swept through Team Piplup, causing other waves to form and push them around for about a minute. Shaken up from the impact, everyone tried their best to keep their cool and focus on the battle.

Alain suddenly realized that if Team Aqua was here, then Mairin was in terrible danger. _There's no way she and Chespy can hold their own against Groudon...I have to be there, Ash will be too busy to look after her, I-_

Diantha seemed to read his mind as she noticed his expression. She said, "Alain, you must not worry about Mairin. You and I both know Ash very well. He can-"

"But she needs _me_! I know Ash is strong, but Mairin and I, we've been through so much together...I really need to be with her now, and make sure she-"

"You don't need to be with her now. I'm sure she is just as worried for you as you are for her, but you have to remain calm and focus. To leave now and go to her would be to disrespect Ash and the promise he made you to keep her safe. Not only that, but Team Piplup needs a leader...Ash appointed you the leader, and they look to you as that leader because they trust him," Diantha said.

Alain gripped one hand into a fist as he held onto Tierno's Blastoise with the other.

Diantha understood that he was feeling conflicted, which would ultimately detract from his ability to focus on the task at hand. She decided that it would be best if they came to a compromise. "Alain...I will go to Mairin and make sure she is okay. But you...you clearly have a battle of your own to worry about."

Alain looked as if he wanted to argue, but knew that this was probably the best way. He nodded slowly, turning his attention back to the battle. "Please, go now..." he said.

Diantha nodded and released her Gardevoir from its Pokeball. "Gardevoir, use Teleport!" she said, and within an instant she was gone.

"Sir! The Champion's just escaped!" shouted a Team Aqua grunt.

"Do I look like I'm blind, for Arceus' sake? I can see that! Focus on your battle, and stop worrying about shit like that! I'll track her down myself!" Matt angrily shouted. Then, to everyone's surprise, he rode his Sharpedo back to the facility on the island.

"Why's he going back?" Kenny asked no one in particular. Beside him, Trevor began to think hard.

"If Diantha's using Teleport, then I would think it would be very difficult to track her down. Although it would probably take a good 10 to 15 Teleports to make it across the Kalos region, it would be nearly impossible to find her, unless-"

"Trevor, can you shut up and just fight with us?" Tierno shouted as he gave commands to his Blastoise.

"Well, I wanna send out Charizard, but I don't think that's the best option right now..." Trevor said, frantically searching his belt for a different Pokeball with a Pokemon that would work well. He was barely managing to keep himself above water, so sending out a Pokemon was going to be another difficult task altogether.

May looked around at everyone desperately, trying to find a Pokemon capable of carrying her Venusaur. Gyarados was the only one big enough, but it was too thin. But then she realized that there was a different, possibly even better option.

"Beautifly, come out and use Sunny Day!" she commanded, making sure her voice was loud and clear for all to hear. "Trevor and Alain...you're good to use Charizard now!" she announced proudly, enjoying the fact that she was turning the tide of this battle.

Alain turned and smiled immediately, his hand instinctively reaching for Charizard's Pokeball. _Finally. It's time to show them our true power..._

Much to Team Aqua's dismay, Beautifly appeared in a flash of white light, fluttering its intricately patterned wings. Within seconds, the rain was gone, replaced by the numerous bright rays of sunlight from Beautifly's Sunny Day.

Simultaneously, Alain's Charizard appeared ready for battle, beating its wings confidently. With a touch of his Keystone, Alain immediately Mega Evolved Charizard. Almost everyone recognized the beautiful and colorful streams of light that connected the hearts of Pokemon and trainer. Soon after, Gary, May, and Misty all Mega-Evolved their Pokemon.

Gary's Blastoise gained an extra cannon, sporting one on each arm and one huge one on its back. Misty's Gyarados grew larger and more intimidating fins. It's underside became a blackish-grey color, which has been speculated to be representative of its type change from Flying to Dark.

May sent out Blaziken right after Sunny Day was used. She tapped her Keystone, which she had made into an earring, and Blaziken's strongest form emerged from the light, streaks of fire billowing from its more physically refined body.

Alain's Charizard's booming roar struck fear into the hearts of Team Aqua's members, who were all frightened to be facing four Mega-Evolved Pokemon. All but Admin Shelly, who for some reason did not seem to be too bothered by the weather change...

– –

~ Terminus Cave ~

"No, no, just wait. I want to see if this will be enough to finish them," Admin Tabitha said to his Lieutenant.

"Okay, sir. But just warning you...we have to keep in mind that they're exceptionally strong trainers."

Team Dedenne was struggling to recover as the ground continued to quake violently. The devastating heat wasn't helping, either. As he watched everyone desperately trying to keep their footing, Ash decided that it was time to take action. _I'm done with this shit,_ he thought.

It actually took him a while to realize that he was still holding onto Serena. She had lost her balance and he had helped her up, but to his surprise she was still gripping his arm tightly.

Calem noticed this and frowned. His already rocky relationship with Ash was beginning to decline even further by the second.

Ash stood up confidently and looked around him at the members of Team Dedenne. In as loud a voice as possible, he shouted, "Everyone! Stop and look around you. They're watching us slowly tire ourselves out...they're just watching, for Arceus' sake! Let's fight back! We can adjust to this...we can fight through anything!

Serena looked up at him in awe, as if she suddenly remembered something she had been forgetting for years. _Wow..._

Clemont sighed, knowing that Ash's heart was in the right place. _But he doesn't realize that not all of us are like him...not all of us can adapt to any situation. I don't think I-_

Suddenly, a Pokeball on his belt opened up and out came Chespin, with an unusually serious expression on its face. "Che, che pin che!" it cried out angrily, scolding Clemont for getting so down already.

Clemont looked surprised, then nodded. "Y-you're right, Chespin...that was the old me. I'm no longer afraid of danger...we still have a fighting chance!"

Bonnie smiled proudly at her brother. _He might be a big baby, but he's growing,_ she thought. "Lapras, come on out!" she exclaimed.

Cilan decided to keep Simisage out, despite the conditions being in favor of Team Magma's Fire-type Pokemon. He trusted his Pokemon, and he had been with Simisage ever since he had received it as a Pansage when he was only ten.

Serena found herself stumped. She could send out Braixen, since the sun would augment her Fire-type attacks...but Groudon's Earthquakes were extremely powerful, and she knew Braixen wouldn't be able to withstand more than two, if that many. Pancham was her next option, but it was small and inexperienced in terms of battling. She supposed that Sylveon was probably more powerful, and it didn't suffer from any type disadvantages in this situation.

"Sylveon, take the stage!" she exclaimed as she tossed its Pokeball into the air.

Ash nodded in her direction. "Good choice, Serena," he said, with a small hint of a smile on his face.

Serena looked slightly surprised. She was even more surprised when she realized that in the heat of the situation, she was still holding onto Ash's arm. She thought about letting go, but she needed Ash to stay balanced. On top of that, she didn't want Calem to think that anything was going on between her and the boy from Pallet Town. Although...did she really care about what Calem thought at this point?

Calem, Paul, and Drew decided to fight with Pidgeot, Aggron, and Flygon, respectively. Pidgeot and Flygon could avoid Ground-type attacks with ease, which made them advantageous picks for this battle. Paul chose Aggron because he knew that it would be able to withstand any physical attack after it Mega Evolved.

"Chespy, come on out!" Mairin shouted as her starter Pokemon appeared in a flash of white light.

"Ivysaur, it's your time to shine!" Shauna exclaimed excitedly as her first Pokemon was released from its capsule.

"Clemont! Help me!" Bonnie screamed as she lost her balance. She tumbled to the ground, the earthquakes too much for her to handle alone.

To her surprise, a Pokemon came to her rescue. It lifted her back up onto her feet and held her to make sure she didn't fall again. Bonnie looked up and saw that it was a Gallade.

"Nice job, Gallade! Hey, are you alright?" Max shouted, running over to them as he pushed up his glasses.

Bonnie nodded and smiled radiantly. "Yeah...hey, thanks for helping me, I-"

She was interrupted by a deafening roar. Everyone turned to see Ash's Charizard emerging from its Pokeball, breathing random bursts of powerful flames in every direction.

Ash raised his hand up high, his Keystone gleaming spectacularly in the bright sunlight. "Everyone! Stand with me and fight!" he shouted, touching two fingers to his Keystone. Those who had a Keystone followed suit, and within seconds the air was filled with countless streams of light.

Max's Gallade gained large, strong blades protruding from its forearms. Paul's Aggron looked like it had a suit of impenetrable armor on as it slowly made its way towards the enemy. Calem's Pidgeot's new form was magnificent, the crest on its head became longer and more fierce-looking, and its wings and tail were capped with blue-tipped feathers.

Ash's Charizard gained much sharper features, sporting a fearsome-looking spike on its head and two fin-like spikes, one on each arm. It's wings looked as if they could slice through air, and the fire burning on its tail burned even brighter.

Ash smiled as he saw the looks on all the faces around him, those of his companions and enemies. Team Dedenne was looking more confident than ever, despite being the victims of a nasty surprise. Team Magma, on the other hand, looked hesitant and uncertain, with the exception of Tabitha and Courtney. The two Admins simply looked at each other and nodded their heads.

– –

~ Route 20, Kalos ~

On the back of her Salamence, Zinnia the Lorekeeper was now flying through the Kalos region, in search of the Legendary Pokemon that would help her reclaim her legacy.

 _Hang on...where do I even go to find Rayquaza?_ Zinnia thought. _I left so quickly...Grannie didn't even get the chance to tell me where to go. That's so strange...she's almost always completely thorough with everything she does._

She had her Salamence land in the middle of a forest for some rest. She softly stroked the Dragon Pokemon on the back and said, "You've done your people a great honor, Salamence. Now rest, rest until I call upon you again."

Then she sighed and sat down underneath a tree, deep in thought. _I need Grannie's wisdom...she would know what to do. Why didn't she come with me? Well, I suppose she_ is _old...whatever...I'm here now, and that's what counts._

Aster nudged Zinnia's leg with its large ears. "Whis, whismur!"

Zinnia laughed and picked Aster up, embracing her Pokemon lovingly. "Oh Aster...you're always here for me, aren't you?"

– –

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

Admin Matt was in his office, communicating with Petrel via Holo Caster.

"Yes, I can guarantee that the Gardevoir will need rest; after all, no Pokemon can Teleport someone across an entire region in any less than three hours. It'll probably take her just that amount of time, maybe two and a half hours, since it is the Champion were talking about."

Matt remained sitting there for the next minute, listening to Petrel.

"Ah, yes, he will work nicely; I've heard about his amazing abilities. But how will you convince him to work for us? Seeing as how he's a-"

Petrel explained to Matt how this man is very easily motivated, regardless of the moral values in question.

"Hm. I see, that's interesting. Petrel, you've proven to be even more useful than I thought you would be. I suspect the Champion will be around Route 15 in an hour or two. Make sure he is waiting there by then."

– – – –

End of the chapter. Sorry it took so long for me to update, I've been especially busy lately. Anyways, leave your thoughts in a review below, I'd really appreciate it.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey, guys. Sorry this update took a while, this weekend was Homecoming so I was extremely busy.

Chapter 9: Separated

~ Route 15, Kalos ~

"This looks like a nice place to rest, Aster!" Zinnia said as she told Salamence to land beside what looked like the ruins of a building.

The Dragon Pokemon landed smoothly on the grass, beating its wings slowly. "Thank you, Salamence. You've made the Draconid proud," Zinnia said as she recalled it back into its Pokeball.

She looked at her surroundings, breathing in the fresh Kalos air. "I kinda like this place. Everywhere is just so calm and serene."

She spoke too soon. Two shady-looking men walked up from the basement stairs of the Lost Hotel and saw her. She turned and saw them, smiling and waving. "Hello! Who might you guys be?" she asked.

The two men approached her cautiously. They were used to people running away in fear of getting robbed, but this girl didn't seem fazed at all by their presence. One of them spoke up, saying, "Give us your money."

Zinnia laughed. "Sorry, boys, I don't have any on me. You'd have to ask my Grannie, and even then she'd probably turn you down 'cause we're kinda dirt poor. Though, Grannie's in Hoenn, so I don't think it would be plaus-"

"Shut up! Give us your Pokemon, then!" the other man shouted angrily, his patience already growing thin. Intruders were usually either quick to flee or quick to cough up their valuables. This girl was neither, and she was getting on his nerves.

Now Zinnia's smile faded. "You'd go as far to demand I hand over my Pokemon? My _friends_? I guess you're dumber than you look," she responded without a hint of hesitation in her voice.

One of the men chuckled a little. "Hm. You amuse me, so I'll give you a chance. Let's have a wager battle. I win, I take your Pokemon. You win, and you can have mine. Deal?"

 _This guy has no idea who he's dealing with here,_ Zinnia thought. Her lips curved back into a small smile as she took out a Pokeball from her belt.

The man who challenged her took a step back. "Whoa. You're not gonna use that little thing right there?" he asked, pointing at Aster.

Laughing, Zinnia replied, "Oh, you mean Aster? Nahh, Aster doesn't really like battling. I'm gonna be using my other partners, instead."

The man grunted. "Fine by me. Let's see 'em then...as for me, Bisharp, come out!" he shouted as he tossed a Pokeball into the air. In a flash of white light, the Sword Blade Pokemon appeared, its metallic body shining in the sunlight, which seemed to be a little stronger today for some reason.

"Hmm. I don't particularly like fighting against Steel-types, but whatever," Zinnia said, still smiling. She tossed her Pokeball into the air, releasing her gigantic Tyrantrum onto the field. Tyrantrum roared and opened its massive jaws wide, revealing its sturdy and powerful teeth.

– –

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

Neither side was willing to concede. Team Piplup most definitely had the stronger Pokemon who fought with heart and determination, but Team Aqua's sheer numbers were beginning to be overwhelming for them. Brock did his best to care for the injured, but it was quite difficult to do so in the water.

The battle seemed endless. Team Piplup would use strategy and wit to defeat a wave of Team Aqua members, but they would soon be replaced by more. The defeated members would simply return to the base and come back when their Pokemon had recovered, buying time for the next wave to recover their Pokemon, and so on. It was a vicious cycle, and the relentless barrage of attacks was beginning to take its toll on Team Piplup, who had little to no means of recovery.

"Gyarados! Get up...get up!" Misty cried out desperately as her Mega-Evolved Pokemon closed its eyes and began sinking. With tears in her eyes, she quickly returned it back into its Pokeball, bringing out a new one. "Corsola, it's your turn!" she commanded. She believed in Corsola, but in a battle like this one, Gyarados was without a doubt her most powerful Pokemon. Now it was only a matter of time before her entire team would be knocked out.

"Electivire! Use Thunderbolt one more time!" Gary pleaded as his Electivire stood weakly on his Blastoise's back.

Electivire was about to release a powerful bolt of lightning when another Origin Pulse from Kyogre knocked it off of Blastoise's back, sending it flying into the cold water. It somehow managed to climb back on, but exhausted itself in doing so, since the Thunderbolt Pokemon was certainly not built for swimming.

"Beautifly, return!" May cried out as she recalled her weakened Beautifly back to its Pokeball. _I should preserve Beautifly as best I can, so I can keep up the Sunny Day,_ she thought, thinking that she would be outsmarting their opponents.

Brock could not decide what to do at that point. _Marshtomp is down...Steelix and Geodude wouldn't stand a chance in battling conditions like this...but I have Crobat._

He looked around at all the Zubat and Golbat flapping their wings in the air. _Though...how will it feel when I'm pitting it against so many of its own kind?_

Iris, Tierno, and Trevor were almost done for. Dragonite had taken one too many Ice Beams after throwing itself into the fray too recklessly. Iris recalled it and sent out Emolga, who fared well offensively, but was rather frail defensively. It was forced to fly constantly, without breaks, which was something it wasn't used to doing.

Tierno's Blastoise was exhausted, as it was accustomed to using their half-dance, half-battle strategy. Without a good beat and room for fancy footwork, Blastoise's only use was carrying other Pokemon, which it was unable to do effectively due to its lack of speed.

Alain maintained a serious, unfazed expression. His Charizard was still fighting, tearing through waves of Carvanha with Dragon Claw and striking down the Golbat with Flamethrower, but he could easily tell that it was tiring quickly and needed rest.

Aqua Admin Shelly watched Team Piplup's energy and confidence gradually diminish as the battle continued. Her Mega Sharpedo was really working hard, managing to knock out Dawn's Pachirisu and Brock's Marshtomp. She appreciated her Pokemon's vigor, but none of it really mattered in the end. Her trump card had been sitting in her hand this entire time, and she had been waiting very patiently for the right time to bring it into play.

She pulled out her Holo Caster and selected a contact name. It rang for about 10 seconds until Admin Matt picked up.

"What is it? I'm a little busy right now," he said, sounding slightly perturbed.

"Someone's in a good mood. I was just going to let you know that I'm going to initiate the-"

Matt interrupted her. "Don't tell me...that you're already going to use it? We don't know how long it will last; save it for Lumiose. That's when it'll matter, because then...well, you know what will happen. Don't use it now, it could potentially be a waste."

Shelly argued, "But these kids aren't budging...they've held us up for long enough. It's time we ended this silly skirmish and took Lumiose City, for Arceus' sake!"

"...Shelly. For the last time...don't. That's an order," Matt said in a firm voice.

"We're both Admins...I don't answer to you," Shelly retorted defiantly.

"Don't make me come over there, Shell-" Matt began speaking, but Shelly hung up the Holo Caster. "Shut the hell up...bastard," she said as she commanded one of her grunts to bring her the Blue Orb.

Alain was about to recall Charizard for a rest when he sensed a familiar power stirring within the Legendary Pokemon before him. His eyes widened with fear as he saw Kyogre's body glowing a bright blue, the intricate patterns on its body gleaming yellow.

Shelly had decided that now was the time.

– –

~ Terminus Cave ~

Team Dedenne's battle could have been going better. A lot better.

They had started off fantastically, leading with strong, determined Pokemon. With four solid Mega-Evolutions compounded with the rest of the Pokemon, it seemed as if Team Dedenne would actually be able to pull through and win, especially seeing as how Ash's Charizard benefitted greatly from the sun.

Unfortunately for them, Team Magma was proving to be extremely resilient. The struggle was literally never-ending; they healed their Pokemon after they were defeated, and then fought in place of their comrades as they healed their Pokemon.

"Gallade, use Close Combat!" Max commanded for the fifth time. He was getting caught up in the heat of battle, not realizing that Close Combat was not the right move to be using in this type of situation. The defensive drop recoil was building up with each use, and although Gallade was quick and able to dodge most of the incoming attacks, its defenses were so low that the next solid hit would likely finish it.

"Aggron, use Double-Edge!" Paul commanded. He found himself losing confidence, a feeling he had only experienced once before at the Lily of the Valley Conference. Aggron charged ahead and slammed into a Mightyena with a powerful Double-Edge attack. The Mightyena went down, unable to continue battling...but so did Aggron. The Mega-Evolved Iron Armor Pokemon could not withstand the recoil of Double-Edge and fell, knocked out.

"Pidgeot, I know you can get up! C'mon!" Calem frantically urged on his Pokemon, but Pidgeot had had enough. After being struck by a Rock Slide from Courtney's Camerupt and multiple Smog attacks from a Weezing, Pidgeot's wings failed it and the Bird Pokemon plummeted to the ground.

Bonnie was also having a rough time of it. Her Lapras had been knocked out already, and its Water-type attacks hadn't been doing much anyway in the hot sun. Dedenne had tried to be brave and fight, but one Earthquake attack had been too much for it. Her last Pokemon was no better an option than the other two, but it was all she had.

"Tyrunt, come on out!" she shouted as she tossed a Pokeball into the air. It appeared in a flash of white light, snapping its huge, powerful jaws.

Initially, she had received this Tyrunt as an egg from a fossil research center, who told her that it was one of the eggs of the Tyrantrum she had taken care of. Ever since it had hatched, Tyrunt was always ready for a good fight, and this battle was no exception.

Drew, Cilan, Shauna, and Mairin were also struggling. Flygon wasn't terribly quick, so even though it was able to avoid the Ground-type attacks, it fell victim to poison after being attacked by multiple Koffing and Weezing. Simisage was taking more hits than it would have liked, dealing minimal damage in return due to type disadvantages. Ivysaur was nearing its limit as well, as its attacks were too slow to land consistently, and were relatively weak when they did hit. This was the case with Mairin's Chespy, as well.

Ash seemed to be holding his own. Back-to-back with Serena and Clemont, the three trainers were standing their ground against Tabitha and multiple Magma grunts. However, Sylveon's Fairy-type moves were proving to be ineffective against Tabitha's Camerupt, and it was also taking a lot of damage due to its lack of speed.

Although Chespin withstood Groudon's Ground-type attacks relatively well, Clemont knew that it wouldn't be able to handle another Fire-type attack, especially in the blazing heat. He sincerely hoped more than ever that he and Chespin would be able to make it through this battle, because he had no other viable options. His Electric-type Pokemon stood no chance against the Continent Pokemon's attacks. He supposed he could use Bunnelby, but the Digging Pokemon relied on burrowing underground, which would make it twice as vulnerable to Earthquake.

Charizard was still going strong, unaffected by Groudon's Ground-type attacks and easily able to take its Fire-type attacks, but it had been using Overheat a few times too many and was starting to lose power. It's offensive presence was beginning to be far less intimidating, and its speed was the only thing protecting it from Rock Slide attacks, which would surely finish it off upon contact.

Courtney turned to Tabitha. "I think it's time...they've held us up for far too long. We need to be at Lumiose City in an hour."

Tabitha frowned, but nodded in response. "Fair enough. Matt said he'd prefer if we saved it for the siege of Lumiose, but I'm assuming that these annoying kids are going to be the most powerful resistance we will be facing, so it's better to use it now."

Serena's Sylveon was using Dazzling Gleam when a Weezing came up from behind and hit it with a powerful Sludge Bomb. Sylveon cried out in pain and fell to the ground. It didn't get up.

Serena immediately rushed over to her poor Sylveon's side, trying to get it to wake up. "Sylveon! Get up! You have to keep trying!" she shouted, almost in tears. She didn't notice the ground beneath her start to give in as Groudon roared and began to glow brightly. Massive, blade-like pieces of earth began protruding from the ground as Groudon roared again.

Groudon had undergone Primal Reversion.

"Serena, call back Sylveon and get the hell out of there!" Ash shouted at the top of his lungs. On his shoulder, Pikachu cried out with concern, "Pika pika!"

Serena turned back with fear in her eyes. It was too loud to hear him, but she could pretty much get the idea. "Sylveon, return!" she said as she recalled the Intertwining Pokemon back to its Pokeball. She was just about to run back to Ash when a deafening roar echoed through the air. The ground beneath them began to tremble more violently than ever before, and now a huge crack separated Ash, Serena, and Clemont from the rest of Team Dedenne.

"Guys! Get back here! You're gonna cave in!" Drew shouted.

Ash looked down and saw that Drew was right. The earth was crumbling beneath his feet.

Clemont surprisingly acted quickly. _There's no choice...I've gotta jump now before I fall. I've gotta do what Ash would do...here goes!_

Ash turned and saw Clemont running for it, and was about to follow suit when he heard Serena's scream. He glanced over in her direction, watching the ground slowly descending beneath her feet. He glanced back at Clemont, who to his surprise had actually attempted to jump onto the other side. Unfortunately, Clemont didn't quite make it and was hanging onto the cliffside with just one hand and his Aipom arm.

Groudon roared again, stomping its feet as if it were throwing a temper tantrum. Considering all that it had been through over the past few days, it might very well have been.

Ash had to make a quick decision, something he had gotten pretty good at over the years. He turned and shouted, "Guys! Help Clemont up! I'll get Serena!"

Cilan and Iris both bravely stepped up to the shaky cliff and began helping Clemont up. Just when Iris gripped Clemont's forearm, the ground beneath Iris' feet broke off and tumbled down into what was now a dark abyss. Cilan grabbed hold of Iris, who was now holding onto Clemont. Iris screamed as she tried her best not to look down. Cilan struggled to hold on with both hands, so Simisage grabbed hold of him, helping them up.

Paul frowned as he watched them. "They're going to need more help...Drapion, standby for battle! Help them up!" he shouted as he threw Drapion's Pokeball into the air. The Ogre Scorpion Pokemon appeared in a flash of white light and instantly grabbed onto Simisage with its huge claws, managing to pull everyone up. Clemont, Iris, and Cilan all breathed a sigh of relief, along with the rest of the team.

Unfortunately, Ash and Serena weren't quite as lucky.

During the whole mess with trying to pull up Clemont, Serena had been hanging on for dear life as well, struggling to hold on to the dry, quaking ground. Ash had quickly run as fast as he could towards her, and was now reaching his hand down to her when she began falling.

"Ash! Help!" she screamed, but Ash was already one step ahead of her, diving off of the cliffside and grabbing onto her arm as the two of them tumbled down into the chasm below. Everyone gasped and tried to find a way to help, but it was no use. They had used all of their Flying-type Pokemon in the battle, and they were exhausted.

Charizard's eyes widened and it instantly dashed towards the mouth of the abyss, flying at full speed when it was hit with a powerful Rock Slide attack.

Courtney laughed as Charizard barely managed to scramble its way back to safety with the others. Lying on its side, it roared loudly, loud enough to give Groudon a run for its money, then closed its eyes and laid its head down.

Meanwhile, Ash and Serena were still screaming as they descended into the dark ravine, the light above them fading as they fell.

"Serena..." Bonnie managed to say, choked up and teary-eyed.

Max couldn't help but stare at the fissure in front of him, trying his absolute best to be brave. "Ash..."

– –

~ Route 15, Kalos ~

"Gardevoir, let us rest here for a bit. I understand that you're terribly exhausted," Diantha said.

The Champion of Kalos and the Embrace Pokemon both sat down gracefully beneath a tree on the edge of Brun Way. They were unaware of the girl watching them from behind a wall of the Lost Hotel.

Zinnia turned to Aster. In a soft voice, she whispered, "Hey, Aster. That beautiful lady looks like somebody important, huh? I wonder if she would know where Rayquaza could possibly appear."

Aster nodded and answered calmly like it always did.

Zinnia smiled. "I think I'll do just that. Come on, let's-"

Suddenly, Aster's body began trembling. She covered her face with her large ears, as she always did when she was afraid. Zinnia frowned and turned to look behind her.

Over by a tree, the woman was now standing up, now looking shocked and alert. Beside her, the Gardevoir appeared to be ready for battle, and Zinnia soon saw why. Standing in front of the woman and the Gardevoir was a man with blonde hair wearing light blue-and-yellow clothes. Beside him was a Gengar, who looked rather friendly, but currently wore a mischievous smile on its purple face.

"Who is that?" Zinnia said as she crept up further to get a closer look. It seemed as if the man and the woman were talking. The woman did not look happy at all.

"You...aren't you a Gym Leader of the Johto region? What are you doing working for Team Magma?" Diantha said, seeming repulsed by this man's presence.

Gym Leader Morty grunted. "First of all, I don't work for anyone. I work for myself and myself alone, and I'm here because I had a great vision...a vision greater than any before. If you did not already know, I have a very special gift that allows me to see into the future. Everything I do now is ultimately for the sake of achieving that image," he said. His Gengar smiled as if this was all just for fun, but then had a serious expression on its face when Morty shouted, "Gengar! Mega Evolve!"

He tapped a Keystone on his left wrist as he spoke. Beautiful streams of multi-colored lights connected his heart to his Gengar's, and within moments the Shadow Pokemon had undergone Mega Evolution. It now looked more sleek, the underside of its body was an eerie red color, and it now had what looked like a third eye in the center of its forehead.

Diantha tried to remain calm, struggling to maintain a composed disposition. She had never met this man in person before, and she was unsure of whether she would be able to defeat him. Regardless, she realized that he was using Gengar for a reason...now Gardevoir could no longer Teleport.

– – – –

As always, leave your thoughts down below for me. Thanks for reading everyone, and stay tuned.


	10. Chapter 10

Just wanted to give a quick thank-you to all of you who are following/favoriting this story...it really means a lot, and it motivates me to write. If you like this story, clicking that "Follow" button to show your support would be greatly appreciated. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and thanks for reading! :)

Chapter 10: A Glimpse of the Future

~ Route 15, Kalos ~

"Shadow Ball!"

Diantha's Gardevoir was quick, but not quick enough to avoid Gengar's nasty Shadow Ball attack. It sent Gardevoir flying backward, slamming it into a tree.

Morty looked down, as if feeling remorseful for what he had just done. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, Champion of Kalos...but I cannot let my vision go to wa-"

"Salamence, use Dragon Pulse!"

Seemingly out of nowhere, a powerful beam struck Morty's Mega Gengar square in the face, knocking it backwards a few meters. It immediately regained its footing and smiled mischievously, as if it were playing a game.

"What the f-" Morty began, but was interrupted again by the Lorekeeper and her Pokemon.

"Now, Fire Fang!" Zinnia commanded, a stern, disapproving expression on her face. She was not going to let anyone bully another for no good reason.

Diantha stared in awe at the girl with the Salamence, taking note of her strange clothing. She did not look like she was from Kalos, and although Diantha had never seen her before, she had a feeling that she was special somehow, in some way. She glanced at the blue spiral-like thing on the girl's leg and noticed a familiar sparkle. _Is that...a Keystone?_ she wondered.

"Don't get yourself involved, kid...I'm being nice and giving you a chance to leave now," Morty said. It was true that he didn't really want to hurt anybody. But if they stood in the way of his vision, then he felt that any action he took was justified.

"I think _I_ should be the one offering you a chance to leave," Zinnia arrogantly replied. She didn't know who this man was, or what he was doing here, but she had a gut feeling that she could kick his ass.

Morty simply nodded. "I see. I suppose kids have gotten far less intelligent over the years...think they can stand up alone against pe-"

"She's not alone," Diantha said, stepping up beside Zinnia. Her Gardevoir had gotten up and looked like she was healthy enough to fight. Diantha held her hand up towards her chest, almost touching the necklace containing her Keystone.

Zinnia stepped up with her right leg forward, brimming with confidence.

Simultaneously, the two trainers Mega-Evolved their Pokemon.

– –

~ Terminus Cave ~

Pikachu woke up lying on the ground, feeling the pain from a bruise on his back. All he remembered before ending up here were the screams and shouts of Ash and Serena. He slowly managed to sit up and looked around to get a feel for where he was. At first glance, this cave seemed no different than any other that he and Ash had already traveled through. But for some reason, Pikachu could sense that there was something...more here. Something strange and powerful.

"Pika pi?" he called out.

But Ash wasn't there to answer.

– –

"Come on, guys! You gotta keep up!" Calem shouted as he and the rest of Team Dedenne were running from Team Magma and Primal Groudon. After Ash and Serena had fallen in, Groudon sealed up the chasm and continued moving, stopping at nothing in its path. Team Dedenne had been forced to run...forced to leave their friends behind.

As he flew alongside the team, Charizard repeatedly turned around and released powerful Flamethrower attacks in the general direction of Groudon and Team Magma.

Although he was struggling tremendously, Clemont kept looking back, fighting back the tears welling up in his eyes. _I was too focused on myself that I forgot about them...maybe I could've helped them...this is all my fault..._

Drew mentally kicked himself as he ran beside Paul and Calem. He supposed that he could consider himself and Ash as friends, more or less. But what worried him the most was how May was going to react when she found out that they had lost him, since he knew that she and Ash were extremely close. He also figured that everyone else was going to freak out and possibly blame him and the rest of the team for losing them.

Max was feeling exhausted, having not really done any physical activity lately, but Groudon's deafening roar behind him was enough motivation to keep him going. Not to mention that Bonnie was sort of outrunning him, which was probably making him look like a loser, so he kept up the pace despite the fact that his legs felt like jello.

Bonnie cried as she ran, not even trying to hold back her tears. She prayed to Arceus that Ash and Serena had ended up safe, regardless of where they were. She couldn't bear to even think about the alternative. She started paying less attention to where she was going and tripped over a rock on the ground, stumbling as she struggled to maintain her balance.

Max saw Bonnie about to fall when he grabbed hold of her arm and helped her to regain her footing as the two young trainers continued to run, with Max still holding Bonnie steady.

Bonnie wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Thank you...again." It was hard to tell with all the commotion, but Max thought he saw a slight smile on her face.

"I think we need to find a place to stop...this is just going to tire us out!" Cilan shouted, managing to keep a somewhat collected voice.

Paul cursed. "He's right. This is useless...we either to need to turn and fight, or find a place to rest. And I'm pretty damn sure that you all would rather go with the latter."

Barely keeping up, Clemont adjusted his glasses as he ran. "Couriway town is just south of here, and there's lots of water there! If any place is safe from Groudon, it would be there!"

Drew nodded. "Lead the way, then. Everyone, follow Clemont!" he shouted as the group let Clemont take the lead.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "They'll catch us if we have to stay behind my brother!"

The sun was almost beginning to set as Team Dedenne desperately sought refuge in Couriway.

– –

 _Ow._

Serena held her head in pain as she slowly opened her eyes, managing to sit up as she felt another sharp pain in her left ankle. The first thing she saw was Ash, who immediately turned when he saw her wake up.

"Serena! Thank Arceus..." he said as he knelt down in front of her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you hurting anywhere? Greninja caught us just before we hit the ground, but there were huge rocks flying everywhere the whole time."

Serena nodded, standing up slowly. "Yeah...I think I hurt my ankle somehow...ah, I can barely walk right now..." she said, sitting back down.

Ash's face looked grim as he rummaged through his bag for something useful. Serena's heart almost skipped a beat when he pulled out his old handkerchief, the same one he had used to help her all those years ago back at Professor Oak's summer camp.

"Here, let me wipe the dirt off you." He scooted closer and delicately brushed away the dirt on her cheek with the handkerchief. _Wow...she's beautiful even after falling off a cliff,_ he thought.

Serena closed her eyes and for a moment forgot the pain she was in, focusing only on Ash's touch. Then she smiled, opened her eyes, and touched his wrist with her hand. "I can do this myself, Ash," she said, but Ash gently pushed her hand away with his other hand.

"Don't worry about it, Serena. I think I got this," he said with a slight smile as he finished wiping all the dirt off of her face.

The Kalos Queen suddenly realized something. "Oh my god...where's Pikachu?" she asked, looking around for the familiar yellow Pokemon that always stood by Ash. He was nowhere in sight.

Ash sighed and leaned back against the wall of the cave. "He's not the only missing," he said, nodding towards Serena's waist.

Serena felt around her skirt and realized that two of her three Pokeballs were missing. She quickly opened up the one she had, and out came Sylveon, still exhausted from the battle. "Oh no...poor Braixen and Pancham..." she said, stroking Sylveon affectionately to comfort it.

Ash looked down at the ground. "Some of mine are missing, too...but they couldn't be far. I'll be some of them opened and are on the move right now. We just gotta heal up your ankle before we can go look for them."

Serena felt a pang of guilt. She knew how important Pikachu was to Ash, and to think that she was preventing them from finding each other made her feel terrible.

"Oh, Ash...go look for them! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine..." she said, knowing full well that she probably wouldn't be fine in the state she was in.

Ash shook his head. "No. I'm staying with you...we can find Pikachu and the others together once I take care of you," he said, releasing Greninja from its Pokeball. "Sorry, Greninja...I'm gonna need you again. Soak this for me, will ya?" he asked, tossing the handkerchief to the Ninja Pokemon, who immediately used Hydro Pump, sending the tiny piece of cloth flying through the air.

Ash rolled his eyes. "Wanna go get that for me?" he said, chuckling a little.

Greninja scratched the back of its head and quickly sprinted after the handkerchief, which was currently still airborne. That was no surprise, since Greninja had one hell of a Hydro Pump.

As Greninja chased the handkerchief, Ash turned back to Serena. "By the way, uh, you were great out there," he said, rubbing underneath his nose.

Serena was a little surprised to hear that. Sure, it wasn't like she was a terrible Pokemon battler, but she didn't consider herself particularly strong. Hearing Ash tell her that she did well elated her, reminding her of all those times he complimented her on her performances and appearance, the latter of which always making her blush.

She blushed and said, "Oh, um...thanks, Ash...but I wouldn't have lasted out there without you, you know. You protected us without even trying to."

Ash blushed a little as he replied, "Actually, I kinda was try-"

"Ninja!"

Ash quickly turned to see Greninja running back with not only the handkerchief, but something small and green as well.

"Whatcha got there, buddy?" Ash asked as he turned most of his attention to Serena, wrapping the wet cloth around her ankle.

Greninja set down a small, blob-like...thing. Ash didn't know how else to describe it. He supposed it was a creature of some sort, but its amorphous body was unlike any other Pokemon he had ever seen before.

He took out his Pokedex, which said, "No data. There are still Pokemon yet to be identified."

Ash frowned. "Well that's a throwback...not the answer I was looking for," he said, referring to his first day as a Pokemon trainer when he had seen a giant, red bird Pokemon, who he had later found out was Ho-Oh, the Legendary Rainbow Pokemon.

"Maybe its not a Pokemon at all," Serena suggested, though she and Ash both knew that it probably wasn't the case.

"Hmm. This is really weird. I wonder if there are any more in this cave..." Ash said as he looked around.

– –

Holding his own Pokeball in its hand, Sceptile wandered the dark corridors of Terminus Cave, searching for any signs of Ash. He had just spent ten minutes searching for its twig, which he had lost in the fall. Fortunately, Sceptile found it and the twig was now back where it belonged.

He continued walking alone, searching for his trainer. He turned a corner and happened upon a strange blob-like Pokemon, or at least he assumed it was a Pokemon. It had one eye on its head...or was it two? Sceptile couldn't quite tell, but he noticed the small, red hexagon on its stomach. The creature seemed to be trying to go somewhere, though it looked like it was having a hard time considering it didn't even have legs and was forced to squirm its way across the cavern floor.

Out of sheer curiosity, Sceptile decided to follow the creature to see where it was headed. He found it somewhat interesting that the creature did not even acknowledge his presence.

After a while, Sceptile grew tired of having to walk at the creature's extremely slow pace and decided to carry it, walking in the general direction the creature was headed. He figured that maybe it could lead him to an exit of some sort.

He heard footsteps in the distance. Something was coming from around the bend. Instantly, he put down the creature and backed up against the wall, listening tentatively. They were light, almost silent footsteps, so Sceptile supposed it was probably relatively small. He made sure to keep the creature he had been carrying in sight, though that wasn't very difficult considering how slowly it moved.

A shadow crept its way up on the wall across from Sceptile, gradually increasing in size as the footsteps became louder. Whatever it was, Sceptile was prepared for anything.

– –

Serena could sense that she was waking up, but felt so exhausted that she kept her eyes closed and her head remained on the soft surface she had been sleeping on. She could feel that her body was upright and appreciated the warmth of her pillow, or at least what felt kind of like a pillow.

 _Wait...what am I...?_

She slowly opened her eyes and saw her legs resting beside Ash's. She turned her head slightly and her heart almost skipped a beat when she realized Ash's head was right in front of hers. She had been sleeping on his shoulder.

Ash was awake, and immediately turned to face her when he noticed her wake up. The feeling of de ja vu was heartwarming to Serena as she lifted her head up from his shoulder, trying not to blush.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, Ash, I didn't mean-"

Ash shook his head. "It, uh, it wasn't you, exactly...you fell asleep on the ground over there and I figured you'd be, uh, more comfortable here," he said as he rubbed underneath his nose.

Serena smiled, words unable to explain what she was feeling right now. Despite how weird things had been between the two former traveling companions, Ash was doing everything he could for her, making her safety a top priority. It reminded her of the old days.

"Thank you, Ash," she said, looking away. She thanked the stars that the cave was somewhat dark, because her cheeks were crimson red at that point.

"Don't worry about it. That's what friends are for, right?" he said, a half-hearted smile playing across his face as he looked down at the ground. For some reason, Serena could sense that something was wrong just by looking at him.

She shifted her feet slightly and asked, "Um...is everything alright? You look kinda down..."

Surprised, Ash tried to force a smile. "Yeah! Everything's just fine. I'm not down at all," he quickly replied.

Serena nodded skeptically and said, "Okay..."

Ash could tell that this conversation was going stale and things were about to get awkward unless he spoke up. "So, uh, how did you and Calem meet?" he asked out of the blue. Immediately after he said it, he wanted to face-palm himself. _Why the fuck would I ask that?_

Serena looked somewhat taken aback, but she seemed to be more dejected than surprised. After a few moments of silence, she answered, "Well, one day Professor Sycamore decided to come watch a live Showcase. After the performance, he congratulated me on the win and introduced me to Calem, who's his assistant or something."

Ash raised an eyebrow. _"or something"? Shouldn't she know exactly...?_

Serena cleared her throat and continued. "Then the professor invited me and Shauna to go eat lunch with him and Calem, and one thing led to another and Calem ended up asking me out. Not much of a story to it, to be honest," she said, seeming rather nonchalant about the topic.

"Is he good to you?" Ash blurted out. He couldn't help it; he wanted to know if Serena was being treated as well as she deserved.

Serena noticed how interested Ash seemed to be, but said nothing of it and simply shrugged. "Most of the time, yeah. I guess pretty much all the time actually, except for when he was being an asshole back at Prism Tower," she said. Thinking of Prism Tower reminded her of her conversation with Misty, Ash's first traveling companion.

" _So then what the hell is he doing in your life? Instead of Ash?"_

 _Why am I thinking about that?_ Serena wondered.

Ash nodded. "Well that's good," he said, trying to make it seem like he didn't care. Of course, he cared more than anything in the world at that moment, but he didn't want to reveal that he still harbored feelings for Serena when she was still with her boyfriend.

"So, how about you? Do you have a girlfriend?" Serena asked. She already knew the answer – or at least she was pretty sure she did, since Misty never mentioned anything otherwise – but she still wanted to see his reaction.

Ash shook his head. "Nah. I, uh...I just never looked for one. And the girls aren't exactly fawning over me, anyway," he said, chuckling lightheartedly as he once again looked down at the ground.

Serena was almost angry when he said that. "What do you mean? You probably just don't notice it, but girls are always complimenting you. They always talk about how great you are at battling, or how caring of a person you are, or how good-look-"

She stopped in her tracks, wondering if it would give him the wrong idea if she finished her sentence. Then again, what was the _right_ idea?

He glanced up at her with a puzzled look on his face. "Uh, you were saying?" he asked.

Serena fumbled in her mind for the right words to say, trying not to look at him face-to-face. She failed. She couldn't help but notice his shaggy black hair, a mess as always, but still looking so perfect underneath his red-and-white cap. They made direct eye contact, his expression saying, "What?" and hers saying nothing in return because she still couldn't decide what the right thing to say was. All she could do was stare...and she probably looked pretty stupid. It was only then did she realize the truth.

 _I...I'm still totally into him..._ she thought to herself, feeling stupid for having denied it so many times before. Dating Calem was just her kidding herself, a distraction from what really mattered, her true desire. The boy she had been head-over-heels for...well, she was still head-over-heels for.

"Ash, I-"

"Hold up," Ash said, raising his hand up to imply he wanted her to be quiet.

"But Ash, this is-"

"Shhh. Just listen."

Serena wanted to scream 'God damn it Ash, I love you!' but decided that they would have another chance to talk, and hopefully in a more romantic setting than an underground cave. Although she did think that just being alone with him, trapped together after a brave stand against evil, was pretty romantic in itself.

After a few suspenseful seconds, Ash asked, "Did you hear that?" pointing over into the distance. Serena raised an eyebrow and leaned in that direction, listening carefully. It took a few moments, but sure enough she began to hear a strange noise. It sounded...slimy, and bubbly...if such words could be used to describe a sound.

"What...is that?" she asked, suddenly feeling a little concerned. _What exactly is down here? We haven't seen anyone or anything else except for that weird blob thing..._

She glanced at the spot where they had put the strange creature Greninja had picked up, but it wasn't there. She slowly stood up and looked all around. It was nowhere in sight. She was about to ask Ash if he knew where it was when she saw them.

There were dozens of them. No...probably hundreds, she guessed. Around the bend of a cave wall came a horde of those creatures, each one identical to the one Greninja had found. They were moving quite slowly, but nonetheless seemed to be at least going somewhere, and with a purpose.

Ash turned to Serena and gently took her hand. It was a bold move; but neither trainer cared, they both loved it. He said, "C'mon, let's follow them. I don't know what these things are, but they've gotta be going somewhere."

Serena nodded. "Good idea," she said.

Ash then turned to follow the massive group of blobs. His hand was about to leave Serena's when she said, "Ash..."

He turned to face her, a little confused. "Yeah?" he asked, his kind brown eyes making her feel warm and safe, despite the actual surrounding environment.

"Can you...keep holding my hand? I'm a little scared," she said, blushing slightly as she played with her hair.

Ash smiled and nodded, sort of shocked that she would ask that sort of thing. "Uh, yeah...sure. No problem," he said, rubbing underneath his nose. He motioned for her to follow him and the two trainers, hand in hand, slowly followed the green blobs, making their way into unknown territory.

– – – –

Thank you all for being so patient with my relatively slow update speed. Soccer season is almost over, and when that ends I promise I will be dedicating much more time to my writing. Anyways, leave a review with your thoughts and opinions, and thanks again for reading.


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys, sorry it took so long for me to update, school is harder than ever and my soccer team is in the playoffs, so we've still been practicing everyday. Sorry this chapter is short, but I find myself wanting to end the story quickly seeing as how the new XY&Z episodes and previews have proven much of my story to be diverted from the canon storyline, which I just don't like at all. Anyways, enjoy the chapter; only two more to go for this story.

Chapter 11: The Race to Lumiose

~ Route 18, Kalos ~

The ground seemed to explode in front of Drew as he stumbled backwards, losing his footing and landing on his ass. Huge blades of earth began protruding from the ground and surrounded him, Paul, and Calem. They were trapped.

Paul could hear Max and Bonnie outside the walls, and it didn't sound good. Not to mention that Clemont was probably a little behind, and was likely in a heap of trouble all on his own. Team Magma had caught up to them with frightening pace, and Groudon's roars shook the earth beneath them.

It was at that moment when Drew realized that they weren't going to make it to Couriway.

– –

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

Korrina opened her eyes to the sound of battle outside. She wished that her room had a window, but apparently prisoners were not treated well with Team Aqua.

In the room beside her, she could sense that Lucario was also awake, probably wondering what could be going on outside the facility.

She wished she could communicate with Lucario, but aura only took their bond so far. She could probably give it battle commands without speaking if they really worked on it, but just to have a conversation with it would be like telepathy, something only Psychic-type masters could achieve with their Pokemon.

Lucario lay its head against the wall, it's arms and legs exhausted from punching and kicking the hard metal encasing him and his human companion. Korrina and Lucario had been imprisoned there for almost 24 hours, and Lucario had spent about 20 of them trying to get out.

Korrina blamed herself for getting too cocky. She should have just run after being confronted, but her pride and loyalty to Shalour City was enough to overcome her fear. She and Lucario had fought courageously, but they could only do so much. _If only grandpa was still around; we would've been able to defeat them together,_ Korrina thought bitterly.

She put her head down and tried to go back to sleep. _I feel so useless..._

– –

~ Route 15, Kalos ~

"Gardevoir, finish it off with Shadow Ball, please!" Diantha confidently commanded. She didn't like having to defeat a Gym Leader in cold blood, but Morty was a threat. She supposed that what made him so dangerous was the fact that he did indeed have the ability to see into the future; though just how accurate his fortune-tellings were she did not know. She knew his motives, and judging from how he had the nerve to disrespect a Champion, she could tell he had the drive and determination. What she didn't know was what exactly he had planned.

Zinnia had her arms crossed with disapproval, wearing a triumphant smile on her face as Diantha's Mega Gardevoir released a powerful sphere of spectral energy towards its opponent. Morty's Gengar had been quick to react earlier in the battle, but it had taken too much damage from Zinnia's Salamence and was now rather lethargic as a result.

"No! Gengar!" Morty cried out as Gengar reverted back to its regular form.

It was strange...Diantha knew that she had to stop anyone with malicious intentions, but at the same time she reserved a faint sense of sympathy for Morty. He expressed genuine concern for his Pokemon, so he clearly had a powerful bond with it, which was something Diantha could not help but respect.

"It's over, Morty of Ecruteak City," Diantha said calmly, slowly walking over to the Gym Leader.

Morty got down on his knees and held his hands out, clasped together. "Please, please, have mercy on me..." he said, bending his head over. "I'm a good guy, I swear...I just can't control my powers..."

"How pathetic," Zinnia said. She turned to Diantha and said, "If you ask me, I say I have Salamence knock him all the way to Kanto," she said, smiling mischievously.

Diantha ignored her. She simply looked down upon the now begging Morty, and occasionally glanced over at his unconscious Gengar.

"Champion Diantha...I've learned my lesson. I will go back home, and act as if nothing happened. Just, please...don't hurt my Gengar anymore!" Morty pleaded.

"He's lying!" Zinnia shouted. "You can't seriously be considering believing him? It's just a load of bull-"

Diantha held her hand up. "Please...I must do what is right," she said.

Morty looked up hopefully, his eyes seeming as if they would burst into tears.

Diantha took a deep breath. "You can return home to Johto, Morty. I would assume your humiliating defeat here will be enough for you to reconsider yourself as a trainer, and as a person. But, there is one condition..."

Morty's eyes lit up with glee as he looked up. "Yes! Oh, thank you, thank you!"

Diantha frowned. "As I was saying, there is one condition: I'm confiscating your Keystone."

Zinnia wanted to scream at this lady, but after hearing that, she decided that maybe this _was_ the right thing to do. The owner of a Keystone cherished it like nothing else, regardless of how good or bad that person may be.

Morty's face was a look of complete horror and devastation. "But...no...wait...there must be something else I can-"

Diantha shook her head. "Give me the Keystone, Morty."

"I will give you anything, anything as long as its not-"

"Give me the Keystone, Morty," Diantha demanded, raising her voice slightly.

"Please! I'll do anything, here, you can have my-"

Before Diantha could stop her, Zinnia stepped up and pointed directly at Morty. "Salamence! Now!"

– –

~ Terminus Cave ~

Wulfric sat calmly inside of his cell, trying to come up with an escape plan. He had fought bravely alongside his Abomasnow against Team Magma, but unfortunately was overwhelmed by the masive numbers of the opposing organization.

He stood up and looked out the small window of his cell, which really wasn't even a window considering that it simply looked out into the corridor of Team Magma's underground base. He could see his Keystone was resting on top of a table about four or five yards away. _If only I could get ahold of it, maybe Abomasnow would be powerful enough to break us both out..._ he thought to himself.

Beside the Keystone lay an Abomasite, and although Wulfric could not communicate with his Pokemon, he could sense that it was eyeing the stone with dreadful desire. He was about to sit back down when his old but attentive ears picked up a strange noise.

He glanced out the window again, but there was nothing there. It seemed that the noise was coming from around the corner. It was a...slimy, squishy sort of noise, if such words could be used to describe a sound.

– –

~ Azure Bay ~

"Everyone! We have to get out of here!" Alain shouted. He was the only one who knew what was about to happen. He wanted it to stay that way.

Everyone mounted their exhausted Water-type Pokemon, who began using every last bit of strength to haul the trainers through the water. It was a herculean task, but it was their only option at that point.

For some reason, Team Aqua didn't seem to be giving chase. Gary noticed this and frowned, wondering why they weren't being toppled over by Kyogre's gigantic waves. "Hey guys...they're not trying to catch up. It's like they're riding the lazy river or something...look how slow they're going."

Everyone turned and saw that Gary was right; Team Aqua and Kyogre were moving at quite a slow pace.

"Whatever," Alain said. "We need to get out of here. I don't care if they're not chasing us right now, we still need to get to somewhere safe." _I sure hope Ash is in a better position than we are..._ he thought.

– –

~ Terminus Cave ~

"Man, I sure hope Alain and the others are in a better position than we are," Ash mumbled as he and Serena continued to walk alongside the horde of blobs. They had been walking at a snail's pace for almost half an hour, and Ash would've completely lost it due to his lack of patience had he not been holding Serena's hand.

He was still having a hard time believing that she had asked him to hold it. _Isn't she, like, supposed to not be into me anymore?_ He thought to himself. _I'm pretty sure I hurt her...a lot...but now it's like I never even messed up..._

"Ash?"

Ash blinked and looked up. Serena was giving him an inquisitive look.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"I asked you what you think the deal is with all of these blobs," Serena said, tilting her head slightly with concern. _What's he thinking about? He seems awfully out of it right now,_ she thought.

"Oh, yeah, that. Uh...you know, I'm not really sure...maybe they're just a baby evolution of some Pokemon. You know, like Azurill, who was discovered after its evolved form," Ash answered. "Just at first glance, I'm guessing maybe they're baby forms of Larvitar? Actually never mind, that wouldn't make sense since that evolution line already has three Pokemon, four if you count Mega Tyranitar..."

"Oh. Well that's an interesting idea," Serena replied, once again amazed and baffled by Ash's extensive knowledge of Pokemon. It was one of the things she liked about him; his passion for Pokemon hadn't waned one bit since the last time she saw him.

The two trainers turned a corner and entered a somewhat large hallway. There were three metal doors embedded into the earthen wall, each one about two meters apart. Ash quickly walked up and noticed a small, barred window in the middle of a door. He gripped his hands around the bars and tried to see what was inside.

"Hello? Anyone in there?" Ash called out into the small chamber.

To his surprise, a hearty laugh answered him. "That can't be you, Ash, now can it? Now, why am I not surprised?"

Instantly, Ash and Serena both recognized the voice from within the cell. "Wulfric!" they both exclaimed simultaneously.

– –

~ Route 13, Kalos ~

Team Piplup had been walking for hours. Although Team Aqua was now nowhere in sight, Alain insisted that they reach Lumiose City, which he considered to be the safest place at the moment. The group had just stopped alongside the large river running with the road and was now continuing on their way to Lumiose.

"Okay, what exactly makes the city a safer place? Wouldn't that just endanger the innocent people who live there?" Tierno asked.

Alain replied, "Trust me, our chances of winning a fight against Team Aqua are much higher when we have something other than water to work with. I hate to say it, but the city will have to be evacuated as soon as we get there; it's not gonna be pretty once Team Aqua gets there."

Kenny nodded. "While that might be a downside, we'll have plenty of chances to surprise them if we're waiting for them in the city. We could use the buildings for relatively safe long-distance battling, and we could ambush them around the entrances to the city," he suggested. Everyone seemed to like the ideas, and suddenly the odds seemed to be in their favor; hypothetically, that is.

Iris could make out the faint outline of Prism Tower up ahead. "There it is! We're almost there! C'mon everyone, let's run the rest of th-"

Dawn quickly turned her head to the sound of helicopters reverberated through the air above them. Everyone looked up to see about a dozen helicopters headed towards Lumiose City, flying at a fast pace.

"What the hell?"

"Who are they?"

May knit her eyebrows as she watched the helicopters make their way over the entrances to the city. "Those look familiar..." she said.

Alain's eyes widened in shock. "No...that can't be them," he said, clenching his fists as he broke into a sprint toward the city. The rest of the group followed suit, everyone getting a very bad feeling about what was to come.

– –

~ Route 17, Kalos ~

Max began to regain consciousness as he heard crackling flames. He peaked his eyes open, but he couldn't see anything in the darkness. His entire body ached; he could barely move his legs. Figuring that conserving energy was a top priority, he decided to remain lying down. He could sense that he was moving, but what was carrying him he couldn't identify. The air was frigid cold, and Max found himself shuddering with every breeze in the wind. In fact, every part of his body was freezing except for his back, which was pressed up against something warm.

He focused all of his attention on his ears. He had read somewhere that when you close your eyes for a long period of time, your other senses seem naturally sharper. He heard voices, people's voices and Pokemon's cries. They were whispering...no, they were shouting, screaming, roaring. It was difficult to tell. But the sound of searing flames continued to pierce the air.

Max wished he was more familiar with the geography of the Kalos region. Maybe then, he would have known where he was, and he would have been able to come up with an escape plan. Maybe then, he wouldn't have started drifting back into a deep, exhausted sleep.

– –

~ Route 15, Kalos ~

Morty lay on the ground, completely unconscious. Zinnia's Salamence took one swipe at him with its huge, powerful claw, knocking him back a few hundred meters.

Diantha turned angrily to Zinnia, who seemed to be quite pleased with herself. "What have you done? You've just directly harmed a human being with a Pokemon, and a Gym Leader, no less! Your recklessness is appalling! I cannot believe I thought you were someone special...you're just an impetuous young girl who abuses her power...power she does not deserve."

Zinnia sighed. "Look, lady, you weren't getting anywhere in that situation. I got the job done for you. That guy's a shithead; he doesn't deserve the second chance that you were giving him. And the thing is, I would have let that slide, but he kept arguing for a different deal and I was just done with it. Let him go back home now; I'm sure Salamence taught him a better lesson than you did," she haughtily retorted.

Diantha was beside herself with anger and frustration. "You are too immature to know anything about what's right and what's wrong in this world. In fact, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if-"

"I'm sorry, but I have a very clear understanding of right and wrong. Right now, I know that I have to do the right thing. And the right thing is to find the Legendary Pokemon and harness the power of the Draconid. So if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way," Zinnia replied with a smile, knowing full well that the Champion would immediately start asking questions.

Sure enough, Diantha's curiosity got the better of her anger. "Wait."

– –

~ Lumiose City ~

Team Piplup ran through the entrance as fast as they could, desperate to see if their suspicions were true. The first thing they heard was screaming. People were running all over the place, scrambling to get out of the city. They all seemed to be running away from Prism Tower.

"It's them," Alain said, though everyone else already figured it out. They quickly made their way to the base of Prism Tower, where they looked up to see those same helicopters hovering around the top. Although he was nearly a fourth of a mile high, Matt's laughter could be heard from the ground.

Trevor glanced nervously around. "But...where's Kyogre? The only way they could get it here in time was if they transported it by water..."

"The river!" Dawn exclaimed. "There was a river that leads from the Den to here..."

Alain cursed under his breath. "She's right. I should've guessed...that's why they took their sweet time back there. They knew Kyogre was going to be able to swim its way here, and they knew they were getting aerial transport for themselves. It all makes so much god-damn sense..."

May looked at their surroundings. There were roads leading every which way out of the square, one pathway leading to a large fountain. Prism Tower loomed above them, seeming almost menacing now that it was taken over by the enemy. She didn't see the Sea Basin Pokemon anywhere. "Except that Kyogre isn't here. Where could it be?"

– –

~ Terminus Cave ~

Pancham and Braixen were arguing about which direction to go when they both suddenly heard noises from behind a corridor. Pancham was the first to investigate, quickly making its way to the bend as stealthily as possible.

He returned with a confused look on his face. "Pancham, cham, cham!"

Braixen nodded. "Braix!"

– –

"Pika pi?"

Pikachu turned the corner and instantly found Sceptile holding a Leaf Blade up to his throat. He staggered backward, preparing a Thunderbolt attack when he realized that it was Sceptile.

Sceptile retracted its Leaf Blade and scratched his head. "Sceptile, Scep," he said, apologizing to Pikachu for ambushing him.

Pikachu pointed at the blob that was making its way across the floor. "Pika pikachu?" he asked Sceptile.

Sceptile shrugged his shoulders and pointed in the direction the blob was headed. "Scep, sceptile scep.".

– –

"These Pokemon are just intriguing!" Wulfric exclaimed as he examined one of the blobs.

"Well, we're not exactly sure if they're Pokemon yet," Ash said. "The Pokedex couldn't identify it," he explained.

Serena nodded. "We were just following them when we happened upon you, Wulfric," she said.

Wulfric nodded and smiled, then suddenly remembered that his Pokemon was still trapped. He grabbed the key and unlocked Abomasnow's cell door. Abomasnow emerged from within the cell, looking weary.

"So, Wulfric, have you heard anything about Team Magma's plans? They're working with Team Aqua, you know," Ash said.

Wulfric's expression was a solemn one. "We need to get to Lumiose City," he said. "Follow me," he said as he began walking away from the horde of blobs.

"Hang on, Wulfric! Can you at least explain a bit first? And what about these blob things? Don't you think we should check it out?" Ash asked, being someone who always wanted to know what was going on. Serena felt the same way.

"Ash is right, I think we should all be on the same page. And to make things worse, I'm missing two of my Poke-"

"Pancham!"

"Braixen!"

Serena turned to see her first two Pokemon running happily towards her. "Braixen! Pancham! Oh, thank goodness!" she exclaimed, running over to embrace them. "I was so worried..."

Ash smiled. "They must have followed the horde to get here. That's good, now its only a matter of time before Pikachu and Sceptile make it here," he said. He felt confident that wherever his Pokemon were, they would be able to find their way around. Still, he worried for them; this cave was certainly not like any other normal one.

"Ash, there is little time to explain, but I must get to Lumiose right away," Wulfric said. "I'm sorry, I really am...but Kalos is in danger and I must do what I can to protect it."

Ash nodded. "I understand. Serena, you go with Wulfric and help them out, with whatever they need. I'm sure they're worried sick about us, so it'll be good for you to go show them that you're okay," he said.

Serena shook her head. "No. I'll stay here with you, Ash, until your Pokemon get back. Then we can go back to Lumiose together," she said firmly, unwilling to be separated from Ash again.

Wulfric couldn't help but smile, despite the grim circumstances of the situation as a whole. He had sensed that there was something special going on between these two trainers from the moment he had met them. "Fair enough. Though I do insist that you hurry, it takes a long time to get to Lumiose without a healthy flying Pokemon," Wulfric warned. "Good luck," he said as he began walking away.

"Thank you, Wulfric," Ash responded. He turned to Serena, who's radiant smile lit up his world. _Wow,_ he thought. _She's just...amazing._

Serena shifted her feet slightly. "So...how about we keep following the horde?" she suggested, looking down slightly to hide her blushing cheeks.

Ash smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Who knows, maybe this could help us with this whole crisis," he said, only half-serious. He started walking alongside the group of blob-like creatures when Serena said, "Ahem."

Ash turned to face her, puzzled. "What is it?" he asked.

Serena laughed lightheartedly, not even trying to hide the fact that her face was crimson red. She slowly held out her hand towards Ash.

– – – –

Sorry this chapter is so unorganized. I'm still working on some of the things that make a good writer, and I hope to improve immensely with each story that I write. Anyways, thanks for reading and leave your thoughts in the reviews. As always, if you enjoy this story, a follow or a favorite (or both) would be greatly appreciated! Stay tuned...


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Battle of Prism Tower

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

Korrina suddenly awoke to the feeling of...water? _Oh no..._ she thought.

She quickly stood up, her socks and skirt soaked. There were about three inches of water inside of her prison cell, and it was rising at an alarming rate. She could sense Lucario panicking in the adjacent cell.

"Lucario! We have to break out!" she shouted, but she knew it was useless. Lucario had spent so much time already trying to break through the cell walls. Unfortunately, all that had resulted in were a few bruises on its fists and feet.

 _If only I could Mega-Evolve Lucario right now...then we would probably be able to break out,_ Korrina thought to herself. She knew Lucario was probably thinking the same thing.

She looked out her cell window and stared helplessly at her Keystone and Lucarionite, laying side-by-side on top of a small table a few meters away. Then, as the water reached her knees, Korrina had an idea.

– –

~ Route 15, Kalos ~

"Tell me about yourself, self-proclaimed Draconid girl," Diantha said, now suddenly wary of the young woman in front of her. If she truly was who she said she was, then...well, Diantha didn't quite know what to do or think. In fact, she had only heard of the Draconid in ancient myths, so her understanding of them was quite elementary. She had never even considered the possibility that they were real.

Zinnia opened her mouth to speak when a faint roar echoed from a distance. It was just barely audible, but it certainly wasn't a typical sound heard within the Kalos region. Diantha felt as if she had heard it before, but the sound was so far away she couldn't quite put her finger on it. What she did know was this: the roar was coming from Lumiose City.

"What the hell was that?" Zinnia asked aloud, tilting her head towards the direction of the sound, waiting for a possible repeat.

Diantha's eyes widened. "Something is wrong. I have to go...you stay here and keep an eye on Morty; I will try to be back as soon as I can," she said.

Zinnia almost laughed at her. "Whoa, what are you talking about? Whatever the hell that thing was, it sure sounded terrifyingly threatening. It must be huge, given that we heard it from all the way over there. You're gonna need my help, whether you like it or not," she said confidently, already mounting her Salamence.

Diantha shook her head. "That is nonsense. I am the Champion of Kalos. It is my duty to protect my region from anything that poses a potential threat. You stay here and watch Morty," she commanded again, but it was like talking to a tree.

As Diantha continued scolding her, Zinnia thought about the roar. _It must be Rayquaza...it must be! I know I'm close...and I know that I can prove myself this time._

Diantha was getting fed up with the Draconid girl. "So? Will you obey my orders or not?" she demanded, exasperated.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What are you waitin' for? Let's go!" Zinnia cheered, her Salamence lifting off of the ground and taking flight.

Diantha was almost ready to force Zinnia to stay, but decided against it. _It would be counterintuitive to start a fight now,_ she thought. She turned to her Pokemon.

"Gardevoir, Teleport!"

– –

~ Terminus Cave ~

"Pika! Pikachu pi!" Pikachu exclaimed as the blob hopped its way into a large chamber. Sceptile and Pikachu sprinted inside and each took a step back from what they saw, shocked.

– –

"Man, what's taking those two so long? I would've thought they'd find us by now," Ash said, worrying for his Pokemon. "We should be getting to Lumiose by now..."

Serena squeezed his hand lightly. "I'm sure they'll turn up eventually. After all, Pikachu's pretty much the smartest Pokemon I've ever met," she said encouragingly, hoping to cheer him up.

Ash smiled. "You're right. Thanks," he said, rubbing underneath his nose.

The horde continued moving into a gigantic room, where dozens of them were making their way to the center.

Ash tried to get a closer look, but he didn't want to step on any of the blobs. "What the..."

Serena pointed to the center, where numerous green rays of light were shining brightly. "Look, I think they're all interacting somehow."

Ash saw that she was right. The blobs were literally hopping into one, big...something. _Okay, this doesn't make any sense,_ Ash thought to himself, and he was sure that Serena was thinking the same thing.

On the other side of the room, Pikachu and Sceptile were watching the same exact thing happen, whatever it was. Ash glanced up and noticed the little yellow mouse standing next to the tall, green tree gecko. He immediately smiled and cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting, "Pikachu! Sceptile! Over here!"

Pikachu and Sceptile both used Quick Attack around the edge of the room to give Ash a big, group hug. "I knew you would make it! Man, I was so worried about you guys, though," Ash said as he embraced his Pokemon.

Serena gasped, tapping Ash on the shoulder. "Um, Ash? You might wanna see this," she said nervously, holding a hand over her mouth.

Ash looked up and saw...a dog?

"What? There's no way...how does that make any sense?" he exclaimed.

The dog had about the same body type as a Houndoom, only it was a little thinner and smaller in size and it certainly did not look like a Fire-type. But that wasn't the end of it; directly beside it was another one, identical to the one beside it. The two creatures just stood there, staring at Ash and Serena.

Within moments, three more identical dogs formed from the combining blobs. All five dogs stood together, warily eyeing Ash and Serena. Serena knew not to be afraid, since she knew Ash was right by her side, but she couldn't help but wonder what these dogs were going to do.

Ash stepped in front of her in a protective manner. "Stay back. We don't know wh-"

Suddenly, without warning, two dogs leapt forward, straight towards the two trainers. Serena screamed as her hand immediately went to her waist for a Pokeball. But there was no need for that.

One dog playfully licked her on the cheek, while the other was having its head scratched by Ash. "Hey there, that's a good boy. Or girl. I'm not really sure what you are, to be honest," Ash said as he gently petted the strange creature.

Serena chuckled as the dog nuzzled up against her. "They're so friendly...but why are they here?"

Almost as suddenly as they had come, the two dogs both turned their heads to the left. The other three dogs did the same. Their ears perked up, and Ash guessed that they were picking up sounds from a great distance. Then he suddenly had an idea.

"Serena," he said. "I know how we can get back to Lumiose."

– –

~ Lumiose City ~

"Everyone stay alert. Expect Kyogre to be anywhere..." Alain said. Strangely, he found himself eyeing the fountain down the street. It was quite large; they had just renovated it last year and it was now about 25 yards in diameter. _There's no way..._ he thought.

But it happened. The fountain basically exploded as Kyogre burst out from underneath it, water spewing everywhere as it let out an ear-splitting cry.

"Of course the river feeds that fountain. Of course..." Kenny said, shaking his head. He still wasn't willing to give up, though; he immediately brought out a Pokeball.

Alain quickly turned his attention back to his team, which was in some sort of disarray. He had forgotten that they still had Ash's Charizard with them. Laying on the hard ground with its eyes closed, the poor Flame Pokemon was absolutely devastated that it couldn't save Ash.

"This is horrible. Our Pokemon are exhausted, and we can't communicate with Team Dedenne! We're fucked!" Tierno shouted. He seemed to be having a nervous breakdown, not used to situations quite as stressful as this one. Trevor tried his best to calm him down, despite the fact that he knew it was going to take some time.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Get a grip! Ash will be here in no time to help us out," she said, though even she knew that that was an unlikely possibility.

May spoke up. "That's not the right attitude, Dawn. We're banking all of our chances on Ash. I don't know how many times you've done that, but I know that when you travel with Ash, you get into these kinds of situations a lot. And when you do, you almost always end up relying on Ash. Well, what if he doesn't show up? Then what?"

Misty rolled her eyes, trying her hardest to contain her fear. "Well, she's right about Ash being a trouble-magnet," she remarked. Iris nodded in agreement, trying to mask her overwhelming fear of the possibility of Kyogre appearing, whose powerful Ice-type moves rattled her conscience.

Brock frowned. "May, you need to be more optimistic. How could you believe that Ash is gone already? After all you two have been through?" he demanded.

"That's not what I was saying!" May yelled angrily, tempted to stomp her foot like a young child to express her discontent.

Gary stepped in, sensing an unnecessary fight brewing. "Everybody, just calm down and get your shit together! We'll be fine. We just have to think quickly and rationally, and don't let-"

He was interrupted by a deafening roar. Everyone looked over and saw the huge buildings of Lumiose collapsing left and right, with red-hot magma flying everywhere in the mix.

Team Magma had arrived.

Alain just stared. "If they're here, than that means-"

"Team Dedenne's screwed, wherever they are..." Gary said.

As if on cue, Magma Admin Tabitha's voice came over a loudspeaker as Groudon slowly trampled its way towards Prism Tower, followed by dozens of helicopters.

"I would assume you're wondering where your friends are," he said. Although they couldn't see him, everyone knew that he was smirking. And why wouldn't he be? Everything was lining up according to their plan.

Team Piplup remained silent.

"I see, so I'm getting the silent treatment from ya'll. Well, whatever, that's fine; but maybe you'd start talking if you knew your friends were on the verge of death?" he said. "Show them, Courtney," he said.

The lead helicopter opened up its doors, revealing several figures who appeared to be tied up. Misty, May, Dawn, and Iris all stared intently in an attempt to get a glimpse of Ash, but he wasn't there. Beside them, Alain immediately recognized Mairin's primarily green outfit.

"Let them go!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, his hand immediately reaching for Charizard's Pokeball.

Matt's voice answered him with heartless, maniacal laughter. "Ah, there we go, someone finally speaks up. You want me to let her go? Okay, then I will," he said. "Courtney, go ahead."

Team Piplup watched in horror as Mairin was pushed off of the helicopter.

"Alain!" Mairin screamed helplessly as she plummeted down towards the ground at an alarming speed.

"Charizard, save her!" Alain shouted desperately, throwing Charizard's Pokeball as far as he could towards Mairin. Immediately after appearing, Charizard flew at top speed towards where Mairin's body was bound to fall.

For a moment, it looked like Charizard was going to make it. Alain watched helplessly as he prayed that everything would work out. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a huge apartment building beginning to fall, about to land on top of Charizard. His eyes widened as he realized that Charizard did not seem to notice it.

"Charizard! Look out!" Alain shouted.

Charizard looked up as the building was just seconds away from hitting it. It was too late; Charizard was going to have to break through it to keep flying.

"Mega Evolve!" Alain quickly touched his Keystone, and within seconds Charizard had taken on its Mega Evolved form, its body now more durable and its claws able to tear through steel. Luckily, it had Mega-Evolved just in time to smash through the building with a powerful Dragon Claw attack.

Team Piplup cheered; for a second they had all thought Charizard was done for. Only then did they realize just how close Mairin was to hitting the ground.

"You can do it, Charizard!" Alain shouted, his hands gripped into fists, wishing that there was something more he could do. However, Charizard's admirable speed was making it seem like Mairin was going to be okay.

If only Groudon hadn't been there.

Another building, significantly larger than the first, came crashing down upon Charizard's entire body, knocking it down and out of the air.

"NO!" Alain yelled, sprinting over to where Mairin was about to fall. It was hopeless, but he was in too much panic to think clearly. He couldn't lose the girl he had been so much through.

Suddenly, a flash of blue and red appeared underneath Mairin, and within half of a second she was gone. Everyone looked around, confused, until they saw a Mega Salamence soaring above them with Mairin on its back.

"Nice job, Salamence! I knew you could do it," Zinnia said, petting her beloved Pokemon on the back. She turned back to Mairin, who was shaking from bewilderment and fear.

"W-who are you?" she stammered, clinging onto the back of the Dragon Pokemon as if she thought she would fall off at any moment.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the Mega Salamence landed next to them. Alain immediately helped Mairin down and embraced her tightly. Despite the rampaging Legendary Pokemon and the evil organization surrounding them, Alain kissed her.

"Aww," May said, smiling as she clasped her hands together and watched the two lovers enjoy their reunion.

"That's true love," Brock commented.

Zinnia hopped off of her Salamence's back and looked around. Immediately, Gary marveled at the Mega-Evolved Salamence that stood before him. "Wow...that's awesome. I'm impressed that you've developed such a strong bond with a Pokemon that's typically pretty tough to train," he said, admiring Salamence's curved wings and long, sharp claws.

Zinnia smiled and nodded. "Yep! A true Draconid can connect with any Dragon-type Pokemon," she said, petting Aster gently. "So, where's that Champion lady at? I figured she would be with you guys," she said.

Tierno and Trevor both looked skeptical. "You...know the Champion? But you don't look like you're from around here," Tierno said. "And how did you know she was fighting with us?"

Zinnia held up her hands. "Look, buddy, I don't really know what's going on here, but I'm looking for a Legendary Pokemon and I can't waste any time in finding it," she said.

"Well, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Groudon and Kyogre are right over there, taking their sweet time wrecking the whole fricken city!" Iris yelled.

Zinnia smirked. "Oh, them? While they might be great and all, I'm not concerning myself with any Pokemon other than Rayquaza. You seen it lately? I know it's supposed to have been sighted around here," she said.

Trevor shook his head. "Well, I don't know who told you that, but they're wrong. Rayquaza doesn't ever come here...and if it had, then I would've known, trust me," he explained.

Zinnia looked surprised. "Wait...what?" she asked.

"AHEM!" Matt's voice echoed through the air. "I'm touched, I truly am touched. You all have fought so valiantly, and it almost pains me to tell you your efforts were fruitless. Watch, just watch, as Prism Tower crumbles to the ground, symbolizing the fall of Kalos at the hands of Team Aqua! ...What? Oh, right, and Team Magma!"

At that moment, everything happened so suddenly all at once that it was difficult to tell what was going on. Everyone but Zinnia was surprised to see Diantha teleport to the base of Prism Tower, her Gardevoir Mega-Evolved and ready for battle. Simultaneously, Wulfric entered the city, only it took him a while to reach the battlegrounds due to his old age and slow-moving Pokemon, Abomasnow. Nevertheless, the Snowbelle City Gym Leader was here to fight.

"It's Wulfric!" Tierno shouted, suddenly seeming to be in better spirits now. Trevor shook his head, wondering if Tierno could possibly be bipolar.

Alain began to feel slightly more hopeful again until his thoughts returned to Ash and Serena. _He's our leader...can we really pull this off without him?_ he thought.

Mairin looked up at Alain's face and saw that he seemed to be in pain. She looked down, and tears began to slowly stream down her face. "I'm sorry...that I wasn't strong enough to help them," she said, trying her very best not to burst out crying. She had to keep a brave face, no matter what.

Alain's expression was a surprised one, and he shook his head. "It's not your fault...if anything it was probably Ash's fault for being too rash," he said, though he didn't really mean it. There was no way Ash could really be gone just because of his reckless attitude...was there?

But it wasn't until then when the most stunning and confusing turn of events occurred.

The dogs came in a pack, leaping over the city walls in a star-like formation. They were majestic, mysterious creatures; no one had ever seen them before. But what surprised everyone even more was the fact that Ash, Serena, and Pikachu were all riding on the back of the lead dog.

"ASH!" Everyone exclaimed, most of them unable to contain their happiness and excitement. Some cried, some laughed, some just shook their heads in disbelief with smiles on their faces. Ash had done it again.

"Why wasn't he with the others?" Misty wondered aloud, though she couldn't really care less at that moment. Ash just being there was enough to make everyone's worries vanish as if they had never existed.

Ash's Charizard beat its huge wings and released several Flamethrower attacks randomly into the air, overjoyed from seeing that his trainer was okay after all.

"Whoaaa!" Ash's excited voice filled the air as the lead dog landed smoothly on the ground and came to a stop. Behind Ash, Serena held onto his waist and pressed up against his back. The other dogs followed suit, and they bared their fangs as they looked up towards the helicopters.

Matt frowned and disconnected his loudspeaker. He couldn't process what was happening, it was too much for him to handle. "What the...what the fuck are those things?"

Shelly and Tabitha were equally shocked, unable to express what they were thinking. They now wondered if their plan would still work.

The only one who got over the shock was Courtney, who simply smiled and turned to her lieutenant. "I don't know what those dogs are or what they can do, but I'd rather not take any risks. I think it's time for plan B," she said, gently stroking her lieutenant's shoulder.

"Y-yes, ma'am," he replied shakily. Even he was unsure if this was the right thing to do.

While everyone was celebrating about the return of Ash, Serena, Diantha, and Wulfric, no one seemed to notice just how close Groudon was to them. It let out another deafening roar, its very presence causing a burning sunlight to emanate from the sky. Kyogre was causing an extremely heavy rainfall to pour at the same time, creating the strangest weather condition of all time.

Courtney nodded, and the lieutenant gave the command.

"Guys! Everyone, shut up and focus! Look up there!" Kenny shouted.

Gary and Misty both turned simultaneously. "Oh no..." Misty said, her legs feeling weak at the sight of the two Legendary Pokemon.

"What's happening?" Dawn asked frantically, her hands worriedly resting on her cheeks.

Team Dedenne could only continue to watch helplessly as Groudon and Kyogre approached Team Piplup. The two Legendary Pokemon each seemed to be preparing a powerful attack, one that would surely wipe out anyone caught inside of it.

"What's going on?" Bonnie demanded, unable to see over Calem's head.

Max couldn't see either, his view blocked by Cilan and Paul. Shauna trembled with fear, unaccustomed to such extreme and dangerous circumstances.

Clemont couldn't adjust his glasses, but he could somewhat see what was going on. He could just make out the outline of Groudon and a few other helicopters, but for the most part the rain made it too difficult to see any details.

On the ground, Diantha turned and began to run back to Team Piplup. "Everyone, take cover! They're attacking!" she screamed. Wulfric ran as fast as he could with her, though he was lagging behind considerably.

Everyone braced themselves for anything as Groudon and Kyogre filled the air with their cries. Groudon summoned monstrously-sized plates of earth to protrude from the ground as Kyogre released an overwhelmingly large wave of pure aquatic energy.

However, to everyone's surprise, the attacks weren't aimed at Team Piplup.

Instead, to Clemont's horror, Prism Tower fell victim to Precipice Blades and Origin Pulse. The beautiful landmark, however genius its design, was unable to withstand such immensely powerful forces. The tower exploded, sending huge chunks of iron and glass flying through the air.

Straight towards Team Piplup.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey guys, just a few quick notes before you read:

*HUGE, huge typo in the last chapter, towards the end I meant to say Team Piplup instead of Dedenne. My mistake, I hope I didn't confuse anyone too much.

*This is actually not the end of the story. I thought I would be able to fit all of this into one chapter, but with everything going on I just couldn't make it happen. So expect Chapter 14 or maybe an Epilogue shortly, I think I've made you all wait long enough. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 13: Order

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

 _The water,_ Korrina thought. _If we get lucky enough, maybe we could get ahold of our stones._

The rising water was now three feet high, and it was beginning to agitate Lucario. It began punching and kicking the walls again, as well as using Bone Rush on occasion. It certainly wasn't about to go down without a fight; that was something it and Korrina had in common.

"Lucario!" Korrina shouted out her window. "Calm down! That's not helping anything!"

The loud banging sounds stopped and Lucario listened to its trainer.

"Look, Lucario, your Mega Stone is rising with the water! Try to grab it somehow!" Korrina instructed, her voice full of determination. She could see her Keystone moving around just below the surface of the water. The water was up to her chest now, and she knew that they were running out of time.

Lucario used Bone Rush in an attempt to hook in the Lucarionite while Korrina could only stand and just pray that her Keystone would drift over to her. _We have to do this...we have to!_ she thought to herself. She couldn't bear to think about the alternative.

She heard Lucario cry out triumphantly, assuming that it had managed to get its hands on the Lucarionite. She turned her attention back to the Keystone, which was still swaying back and forth about two meters away in the water. It wasn't going to make it.

Her heart sank as she felt the rushing water reach her chin. She kicked up to the surface to get a few last seconds of breath. "Lucario! I'm not going to make it!" she shouted, tears streaming down her face. She had done everything she could, but she kept her voice strong for Lucario. "Just know, Lucario...you make me so very proud to be your friend..." she cried out.

And then the water reached the top of the cell.

– –

~ Lumiose City ~

"NOO!" Clemont shouted, his arm reaching out towards the crumbling landmark of Lumiose City. Prism Tower had meant the world to him, and it was where he spent the majority of his time; it was his gym, his workshop...his home. He couldn't help it; he began to cry.

And this time, Bonnie didn't call him a baby for it.

Down below on the ground, Team Piplup was scrambling to get to safety as the avalanche of debris fell closer and closer towards them.

Ash and Serena quickly hopped off of the dog's back and ran, dodging their way towards their friends. No one paid any attention to the five dogs, who remained standing together between the rampaging Groudon and Kyogre.

Zinnia's jaw dropped. "Rayquaza...isn't here after all," she muttered to herself, staring in disbelief.

"AHH!" May shrieked as a huge piece of iron landed directly beside her, shaking the ground slightly upon impact.

Drew could hear May's scream from the helicopter. His eyes widened with fear as he realized that she could very well die down there. He immediately started biting at the rope that was binding his hands, desperate to escape somehow to help May.

Clemont was doing his best to forget about Prism Tower and tried to focus on escaping. He didn't think his jaw was strong enough to chew his way out, so he glanced around the helicopter for anything that could potentially be useful. Suddenly, his eye caught his backpack laying in the corner, just a few feet away.

"It's no use. We're not Rattata...we can't get out of these bindings like that," Calem said, his voice indicating that he had given up.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Max angrily demanded. "There are people we care about down there, and you're sitting here just being pessimistic about everything, without offering any way to help!"

Back on the ground, the situation was getting worse.

"Guys! I think the dogs can help us!" Ash shouted, but almost no one was listening. They were too busy with trying to survive. _God damn it, everything is going so, so wrong..._ he thought. _I was the leader, I should've been more careful, I should've – holy shit!_ Ash looked up and saw a massive chunk of Prism Tower about to land on him...no, not him...on Serena.

"Serena! Watch out!" he cried out as he turned around and tackled her out of the way. His back skidded across the ground, and he held Serena in his arms to protect her from any potential injury.

She lay on top of him as they both managed to catch their breath. "Th-thank you, Ash..." she said, staring into his eyes. Despite the urgent situation, she couldn't help but blush.

Ash smiled, then winced as he felt a sharp pain in his leg. "Ah, shit..." he said, closing his eyes as he tried not to focus on the pain. "I got cut by a piece of glass."

Serena's eyes widened in horror as she looked up. "ASH! We need to get out of here!" she said, pointing at another piece of the tower plummeting down towards them.

Suddenly, one of Ash's Pokeballs burst open on its own, revealing the Shedding Pokemon. Scraggy raised its tiny arms, which just barely reached above Ash and Serena as they lay down, and braced itself for the incoming debris. Surprisingly, it managed to stop the piece of iron and stood there, struggling to hold its position.

"Scraggy!" Ash exclaimed, words unable to express what he was feeling at that moment. He was scared, relieved, happy, and proud all at the same time, and yet there was more to it than just that.

"Scrag!" Scraggy cheered, though it was clear from its shaking arms that it wasn't going to be able to hold up much longer. Ash and Serena just started scooting their way out from underneath the chunk of iron when another piece fell on top of it.

"Scraggyyy!" Scraggy cried out in pain as it somehow continued to hold up the weight of now two large pieces of Prism Tower.

"Hang on, buddy! We're almost out!" Ash shouted as he and Serena did their best to crawl as fast as they could.

If only the third piece hadn't come along.

Scraggy couldn't handle it. Upon impact, the third piece shoved the two pieces beneath it down forcefully on top of Scraggy's failing arms. Scraggy was now using its head to hold it up, but now Ash and Serena were being pressed against the ground.

"Scraaaggyyy!"

Ash closed his eyes and cursed under his breath while also trying to think of a way to escape. He had been so busy that he hadn't even noticed the bright white light beside him.

"Scraaaggyyy!" Scraggy cried out as its entire body began to glow. It began to grow taller and wider, its head increasing in size and growing a mohawk-like feature on top of it. Scraggy was evolving.

"Scraagggfftyyy!" Scrafty let out a roar and smashed its head upwards into the stacked pieces of iron, smashing them to pieces. Ash and Serena stared in shock at Scraggy's sudden transformation, which evidently came with an incredible increase in power.

"Scrafty! You evolved to save us...that's awesome!" Ash cheered joyfully as he helped Serena up. They both gave Scrafty a pat on the back, though it seemed that Scrafty wasn't paying much attention. Its eyes were focused on the five strange dogs, which were all still standing in a V formation. Ash figured that the dogs were about to act, and he suddenly realized that they could possibly undergo another combination process.

"Is everyone else alright?" Wulfric's usually booming voice did not seem so strong amongst the sound of Lumiose City's destruction. He and Diantha were now caring for the wounded, which included Iris, May, Mairin, Alain, and Kenny. Fortunately, the eruption of debris had stopped.

"Ash, what's going on? What are those things?" Dawn frantically demanded, running up to Ash and grabbing his arm. This gave her a sense of security, something everyone needed at that moment. Serena tried not to openly express her disapproval, since she knew that Dawn and Ash were just friends and that Dawn and Kenny were a couple, anyway.

Ash managed a weak smile at his old Sinnoh traveling companion. "You know, Dawn...I'm just not sure," he admitted.

Gary walked up to them and put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Well, whatever happens Ash, we should all be pretty damn glad to have you here. Am I right?" he asked, holding his arms spread wide as he looked around at the rest of the group.

Alain laughed and nodded. "You're right, Gary. Ash has done it again," he said with a smile.

Zinnia simply stared at the ground, her eyes welling up with tears of disappointment. _I came all this way to reclaim my legacy...only to find out that Rayquaza isn't even here. How will I show the world the power of the Draconid?_

Up above in a helicopter, Courtney scanned the city grounds with a frown on her face. "They're not dead," she said, turning to her lieutenant. "Why are they not dead?" she demanded angrily.

"Uh, um, ma'am, it seems that the dogs are standing their ground and were unfazed by the debris. I'm suddenly getting a much stronger read on their energy scale...it looks like they're about to do something...big," the lieutenant stammered, sweating from the stressful ordeal of speaking with his commander.

"Uh, Courtney? You might want to look at this," Matt's voice said over the loudspeaker.

The five dogs suddenly became surrounded in a bright, green light. The light began to envelop their bodies, shielding them from everyone's view.

"What's happening?" Misty asked aloud.

Everyone else seemed to be wondering the same thing as a new body emerged from where the five dogs had stood only seconds before; a larger, much more intimidating figure now let out a deafening cry. Its green-and-black body was long and scaly like a serpent's, only it had five large frills on the back of its head, almost like those of a frilled lizard.

"No way..." Trevor said, his jaw dropped as he stared in awe with everyone else at the massive Pokemon standing before them. "That's Zygarde! The Legendary Order Pokemon! It's here to protect the Kalos region!"

Serena began to feel nervous, and her hand slowly found its way to Ash's. They held each other firmly, feeling comforted by each other's touch. Then Ash pulled her in closer, which came as a big surprise to her.

Zygarde at its 50% form stood majestically between Groudon and Kyogre, who had both somewhat calmed down due to the presence of this strange Pokemon in their path.

"Uh, Shelly," Matt said. "What the fuck are we supposed to do with this thing in our way? It looks powerful if you ask me."

Shelly rolled her eyes. "Of course it's powerful; just look at the thing. If I had to guess, I'd say its one of the Legendary Pokemon of the Kalos region."

"Stop talking about it and just do something, god damn it!" Tabitha shouted. "Courtney, command Groudon to attack!"

Courtney nodded and turned to her lieutenant. "You heard him," she said coldly. The man nodded and began working with his controls. No one noticed that Clemont had managed to break free from his bonds using the Clemontic Gear Team Magma had carelessly left lying too close by. He was now helping Drew to escape, whose mouth was bleeding from trying to bite through the rope too hard.

Despite the lieutenant's efforts, Groudon was not responding to any commands. And Courtney soon saw why.

Zygarde was emanating bright, green waves of light that coated the bodies of Groudon and Kyogre entirely. The two Primal Reverted Legendary Pokemon, who had been rampaging ferociously just a few minutes ago, now seemed tranquil as a young flower blooming in the spring.

"Whoa...that's crazy," Tierno said.

"I guess that's why they call it the Order Pokemon. It's restoring order by calming the two living beings that are threatening the balance of the ecosystem," Brock said. Though he was simply making an inference, everyone could figure that he was probably right.

"Why doesn't it just fight them?" Kenny asked.

Groudon and Kyogre now looked lethargic, unable to move aggressively or make any sudden motions. It was as if they were falling into a deep sleep, entranced by the power of Zygarde.

"Because a fight here would mean the destruction of the city, which would be the death of thousands of people. It wasn't attacked directly; Groudon and Kyogre were just making a mess, so it deemed this the best way to stop them. While Zygarde is primarily concerned with the ecosystem, the city must remain intact in order for the environment to be safe," Diantha answered.

Misty posed the question, "But...what if Zygarde _was_ attacked? What would it do then?"

Diantha simply smiled at the Cerulean Gym Leader. "I must admit that I can't say for sure. Let's just be glad that that hasn't happened," she said.

"What is going on?!" Courtney shouted at her lieutenant, who didn't have an answer for her. No one did; Zygarde had caught everyone off guard. Groudon was now turning around and began walking away from the wreckage it had just caused. Kyogre also began to leave.

"Shelly! Why can't we get control of Kyogre anymore?" Matt shouted.

Shelly shook her head. "That thing, whatever it is, is way too powerful. There's nothing we can do..." she said.

"They're LEAVING? Just like that?! As if they were never even here?!" Matt shouted, nearly going into a state of insanity.

Everyone on the ground was relieved. Everyone, that is, except for Zinnia, who bitterly muttered under her breath. "How could Grannie tell me that Rayquaza was going to be here? She's a fool..." she said to herself. "How could she..."

Groudon was now walking beside Kyogre, who was using the stream to travel back out to the sea. Both Legendary Pokemon were, for the time being at least, peaceful with one another as they began the long journey back to their homes in the Hoenn region.

Wulfric turned to the Champion. "Does this mean...it's all over?" he asked her hopefully.

Smiling confidently, Diantha replied, "Yes, Wulfric, I think it is...and we all owe it to Zygarde."

Ash and Serena turned to each other with big smiles on their faces.

"Who knew those blob things would come through like that?" Ash exclaimed happily.

Serena laughed. "That was amazing! Without you, Ash, who knows what could've happened!" she said, throwing herself at him into a big, intimate hug. The two childhood friends and Kalos traveling companions stood there, embracing each other.

Up in the helicopter, Team Aqua and Team Magma were devastated. Courtney felt crushed, her dreams and aspirations shattered by one Pokemon alone. She did not even care that Team Dedenne was escaping on the backs of their flying Pokemon.

Alain held Mairin in his arms as the two young lovers felt relieved to simply be with each other again. "I was so worried about you..." Mairin said.

"You? I was the one who should've been worried," Alain said, chuckling lightheartedly.

Ash pulled away from Serena for a brief moment to look around. "Hey...where's-"

"BONK!"

Everyone looked around in confusion.

"What the hell was that?"

"Where did that come from?"

"Oh my god..."

With a challenging stance and a look of determination, Scrafty was now standing just inches from the Legendary Order Pokemon. It had just used its newly learned move, Head Smash, directly against Zygarde and was preparing to do it again.

Ash stared in disbelief. "Oh no...Scrafty! STOP!" he shouted, running out towards it.

But Scrafty had other plans, desperately wanting to test its newfound power. And what better way was there than to fight a Legendary Pokemon? Scrafty's answer to that question would be, of course: none. It leapt into the air and charged head-first towards Zygarde a second time, smashing into its serpent-like body with formidable force.

"It needs to stop," Diantha said. Her voice sounded worried, and her expression was even more so. "We cannot anger it...Arceus knows what it would do."

But it was too late. Like Scrafty, Zygarde wanted to test itself as well as its opponent, allowing Scrafty to attack a third time. This time, however, Scrafty aimed for the head, and struck Zygarde right between the eyes. Hard.

Zygarde roared angrily just as Ash had put a restraining hand on Scrafty's shoulder. "Scrafty! You've gotta stop! You don't know what you're doing right now!" Ash shouted, starting to pull Scrafty back along with him. Scrafty didn't seem to resist initially, then suddenly quickly broke free from Ash's grip and burst forward head-first towards Zygarde.

Enraged, Zygarde was now glowing with that same green light from before, only this time something strange happened. Something only Ash and Serena recognized.

Seemingly out of nowhere, hundreds of small green figures began flying in towards Zygarde from all directions. Zygarde was absorbing each and every one of them, and it seemed to be growing...or changing form.

"I can stop it," Zinnia said and confidently began walking towards it. Everyone turned their heads in confusion, watching the strangely-dressed girl and her Salamence approach the Order Pokemon.

"Scrafty, stop this right now!" Ash commanded, speaking with a tone of voice he rarely found himself using. "Return!" he shouted, recalling Scrafty back into its Pokeball. "God damn it..." he said as he looked up at Zygarde, who had not yet fully transformed.

"Zygarde!"

Ash turned around to see a girl he had noticed before but hadn't talked to. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Zinnia smiled. "Don't worry. Ash, right? I can handle this," she said.

Zygarde let out another deafening roar that resonated through the air. It looked down upon Zinnia as its body continued to receive cells.

"Zygarde...won't you please calm down?" Zinnia started off straight to the point. "I understand, as a Draconid, what it feels like to be able to control draconic power. It's amazing, isn't it? You're an amazing Pokemon, Zygarde."

Zygarde did not stop absorbing cells, but it stopped its loud cries and stared intently at the Draconid girl. The light emanating from its body still shone brightly, but it was slowly getting dimmer and dimmer.

"I understand that you're angry...I know you've been caused pain by this impetuous Pokemon...and boy," she said.

"Hey, I didn't-" Ash said.

Zinnia turned to him and held up a finger to her lips to signal him to be quiet. Then she turned back to Zygarde. "This Scrafty here was wrong to attack you. You, the mighty Order Pokemon, who just saved the Kalos region, deserves better than that, don't you?"

"Can it even understand her?" Kenny asked aloud.

Dawn shrugged. "Who knows. But it seems to be calming down, at least," she said.

Zinnia took a deep breath, imagining that she was talking to Rayquaza, urging it to realize its connection with her and the Draconid people. "Zygarde...with jewel bright and borrowed might form the spirits of the departed...through sacred right, in thy great sight, my life as well I offer...I plead thee to withhold thy power...and save us from disaster."

– –

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

Korrina awoke on the sand, feeling a terrible pain in her chest. Beside her lay Lucario. She did not need to get up to see if he was still alive; she could feel it. Her aura made sure of that.

She sat up and took a good look around. The surrounding water was calm, and she could see flocks of Wingull flying in the sky above. _How did I get here?_ she wondered. _I thought I was dead for sure...and there's no way Lucario somehow broke through, he had been going at it for days..._

She noticed her Keystone laying on top of a slip of paper in the sand beside her. She picked up her Keystone first, examining it, making sure that it was fully intact. Then she turned over the paper, which appeared to be a note. It read:

 _Sorry for the trouble. Though I was not involved with your capture, I worked with the organization who was. Hey, gotta do what you gotta do to make a living. I was just leaving the Den when I heard you screaming for help, and hey, what can I say...I'm a nice guy. I couldn't just leave you. So I helped you and your Pokemon out, free of charge, didn't even steal anything from you. Consider yourself lucky. Oh yeah, if you ever meet the Draconid girl whose name is Zinnia, tell her I impersonated her grandmother. She'll understand. She might even find it humorous. Maybe._

Korrina read the note over again, then looked at the signature, which looked like it was written in a hurry. "Sincerely...The Master of Disguise?"

– – – –

Again, there will be one more chapter to this story (or maybe an epilogue, haven't decided yet) that I will publish rather soon. Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll leave a comment in the reviews for me.


	14. Epilogue

Epilogue

~ Lumiose City ~

"Just take 'em to Lumiose Prison for now. We'll decide how long they'll stay there later," Officer Jenny told her officers.

Clemont knelt in front of the wreckage that was once the great Prism Tower. Of course, to him, it had been so much more than just a famous landmark. Bonnie was also deeply upset by the destruction of it, standing next to her big brother as she cried softly.

Officer Jenny put a hand on Clemont's shoulder. "Chin up, gadget boy," she said. "In all my years of law enforcement, I've never met anyone brighter than yourself. You've got plenty of brains to redesign and reconstruct the tower. Who knows, maybe you can even make some improvements to it. After all, if you can't do it...then who will?"

That was her final remark before she turned and mounted her motorcycle, riding off to catch her next criminal. After Zygarde had returned to its home in Terminus Cave, Shelly and Tabitha had turned themselves in. Matt did not turn himself in, but Ash's Staraptor was able to intercept his helicopter and Officer Jenny was able to arrest him. Courtney escaped, and her whereabouts are unknown.

Luckily, all of Team Dedenne were able to make it safely to the ground before Courtney took off. With a few exceptions, the most evident of them being Clemont, most everyone was celebrating that the battle was finally over.

Having left the Pokemon League for far too long, Diantha had to leave immediately. She spoke to Ash and Zinnia briefly before she left.

"Ash...Zinnia...I don't know how I can thank you two enough. Both of you played such pivotal roles in this effort, and without you...well, I would rather not think about it. I wish I could stay to say more; you two deserve so much more praise than what I'm giving you right now...but I must leave. Good luck to the two of you...and I hope we will meet again sometime in the near future," Diantha said.

And with that, she and her Gardevoir Teleported away.

Zinnia turned to Ash. "Well, it was nice saving the region and all, but I unfortunately have to be getting home as well. I'm sorry I didn't get to know you better; but I'm sure we could be great friends if we met – as Diantha just said – sometime in the near future," she said, smiling as she extended her hand out towards Ash.

Ash accepted the handshake cheerfully. "You're right, Zinnia. Maybe next time you can tell me all about the Draconid people, though my friend Iris would probably find it more interesting. Not that I wouldn't listen, of course, 'cause you're pretty amazing," he said, smiling.

Zinnia nodded. "Thanks, Ash. You're not so bad yourself," she joked as she climbed onto the back of her Salamence. "C'mon, Aster...let's go explore the Sea Spirit's Den before we head home. Something tells me we'll find something or someone there." She waved good-bye to everyone as she flew off into the sky, traveling as a free spirit. _Although I may not have harnessed the power of Rayquaza...I still feel that I have redeemed myself here...I feel refreshed, like a new person...and I am proud to be one of the Draconid._

As Ash watched her leave, Misty and Gary walked up to him together to say good-bye, as they had to get back to their responsibilities back at home. Ash was sad to see them go, especially since he hadn't even had the chance to catch up with them, but he knew Misty was a Gym Leader and Gary was an aspiring professor.

"Well, Ashy-boy, it's been cool seeing you again," Gary said, using the age-old nickname he used to call Ash when they were younger. This brought a smile to Ash's face as he shook Gary's hand. "Yeah, it sure has...where are you headed next for research?" Ash asked his old rival.

Gary shrugged. "Not sure yet. I have to write up a report on Baby Pokemon for Gramps, but after that I think I might just go for a little vacation...this whole global crisis thing was kinda stressful for me," he replied.

Misty nodded in agreement. "Same here...but it really brought back memories of when we were younger, didn't it, Ash?" she asked. She missed those days; the days she could travel the world whenever she wanted, and with her friends beside her the whole time, no less.

Ash smiled and nodded. "Oh, yeah. Like, I know this was pretty crazy, but it still doesn't beat the time when we fought the Mirage Pokemon," he said excitedly, remembering the Mirage Mew who had sacrificed itself to stop the Mirage Mewtwo, an abomination created by a mysterious professor named Dr. Young."

Gary frowned. "Sounds pretty cool...I guess I missed out," he said.

Misty laughed a little. "Well, I'd be happy to tell you all about our adventures on the plane home, Gary. Let's go...we're going to be late," she said.

"Don't forget about me!" Brock shouted, waving as he ran over to the three friends. Out of breath, he said, "I just had to stop by the Pokemon Center to pick up some stuff real quick."

Misty smirked skeptically. "Really? Or did you just want to flirt with a Nurse Joy from Kalos?"

Everyone laughed at that, even Brock. Ash waved to them as they walked to the airport, wondering when he himself would be getting back home. He wanted to, no doubt; his mom was probably worried sick about him. But there was something he needed to do before then. Something that could possibly involve not going home for a while.

He was about to find Serena when he heard a familiar voice behind him. "Ash!" it yelled.

Ash turned to see May and Drew walking towards him. "Oh, hey guys," he said to them. "You guys heading out?"

May shook her head. "Oh, no! Now that we're here, I wanted to stay and look around Kalos a bit. I heard its absolutely beautiful here...plus, you just can't go wrong when you're in the region of love," she said, glancing at Drew. "Are you staying here, Ash?" she asked her old mentor.

Ash shrugged. "You know, I'm not so sure yet. It'd be great to get back home, but, uh...there's just, um, something I...you know, I-"

May laughed and wrapped her arms around him in a friendly hug. "Well, this is good-bye, just in case I don't see you for a while," she said. Then she pulled away and smirked. "And good luck with the girl, whoever she is," she said, winking.

Ash blushed like crazy at that last comment. He was about to ask her how she knew, but realized that she was May. Of course she knew. She was basically a genius when it came to romance.

Drew smiled. "Yeah, I kinda wanted to go back home, but what can I say...this girl is everything to me," he said.

"Aw, Drew, that's so sweet," May said as she leaned in and kissed him. Laughing, Ash held up his hand and said, "Get a room, guys."

The couple laughed and waved good-bye as they walked into the shopping district of Lumiose City. _Wow,_ Ash thought. _They are a perfect match..._

"Dee Dee, let's go back home...I think our parents are probably worried about us," Kenny said to Dawn.

Dawn nodded. "Yeah...and I think we both deserve a nice picnic by Lake Verity when we get back...how does that sound?" she said cheerfully, her eyes lighting up from the thought.

Ash walked up to the couple and shook Kenny's hand. "Thanks for comin' out, you two. You guys were invaluable to the team...not to mention its always great to see you guys again," Ash said with a smile. "Just don't get into any trouble over in Sinnoh, alright?" he joked.

Dawn gave Ash a big hug. "No need to worry, Ash," she said, embracing her old Sinnoh traveling companion.

"Hey, Ash," Paul said.

Ash turned and nodded. "Hey, Paul. Thanks for helpin' us out, man, I really appreciate it," he said to his old Sinnoh rival.

Paul nodded. "No problem. I think I'll stick around Kalos for a while...maybe catch a few Pokemon here. Next time I run into you, we should have a battle," he said in a challenging tone.

"Sure thing, Paul. I'm lookin' forward to it!" Ash said cheerfully as he waved good-bye to him.

The next to say good-bye were Cilan and Iris, who, like the others, had commitments back at their own home, the Unova region. Cilan was still doing his best to become the best Pokemon connoisseur there ever was, and Iris was still on the path of becoming a Dragon Master.

"Well, Ash, you're still a kid, but that was some pretty cool shit you did out there," Iris said, patting her old companion on the back.

Cilan laughed. "Yes, I was very impressed as well...you've grown up considerably, Ash, I hope you recognize that," he said with a proud smile on his face. "You're certainly not the same kid who kept bickering with Iris over the most trivial affairs," he joked.

Ash chuckled. "You're right, Cilan, I'm not that _kid_ anymore," he said, glancing at Iris, who laughed in response. "You guys take care, alright?"

Cilan and Iris both nodded as they walked off to the airport together, playfully arguing about who had been more immature between Ash and Iris back when they were all still traveling with each other in Unova.

A small hand tapped Ash on the shoulder. He looked down and saw Bonnie standing there, her eyes indicating that she had been crying. Now, however, she was smiling her usual sunny smile, and she was giving Ash a hug.

"Clemont and I are going to work together to rebuild Prism Tower," she said, sniffling.

Ash smiled. "Really? That's nice...but, uh, what are you going to do to contribute?" he asked lightheartedly.

Bonnie smiled. "I'm going to be the designer! I've always wanted Prism Tower to look more, how can I say this...feminine," she answered cheerfully. Despite the tragedy of losing her brother's Gym and workshop, Bonnie's spirits were still upbeat. There were few things in this world that could diminish her chipper personality, even for a short period of time.

Ash couldn't help but laugh. Bonnie had grown up, but she still had a good amount of that child-like innocence about her. "That's awesome, Bonnie, but I would probably run that by Clemont before you start building," he said, smiling. "But, uh...is Clemont gonna be okay?" he asked, concerned for his friend.

Bonnie nodded with another smile. "Oh, he'll be fine. As much of a baby as he is, I know he'll be able to get back on his feet. After all, Prism Tower was his life...he's gonna need it, one way or another," she said, chuckling a little. "But yeah, I should go check on him now...bye, Ash!" she said, giving him another quick hug before running off to her father's home where her family awaited her.

"Ash!"

 _Man, so many people wanting to say good-bye, it's almost exhausting,_ Ash thought to himself as he turned and saw Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor all walking up to him. He smiled at them.

Trevor and Tierno were both brief. "Wulfric invited me to take pictures of Pokemon in Pokemon Village! But he said it needs to be today, so I'm off to Snowbelle City right now. Hopefully I'll see ya later, Ash!" Trevor shouted as he ran off towards the gate.

Tierno shook Ash's hand. "Well, I know we didn't get to battle like we usually do, but next time I see you let's definitely pick it up again," he said, smiling at his old rival.

Ash nodded. "For sure! Alain told me you've gotten a lot stronger," he said. "I can't wait to see for myself!"

As Tierno's figure faded into the distance, Ash caught sight of Serena standing alone over on the street corner. He was just about to walk over to her when Shauna gently touched Ash's arm. "Ash?" she asked.

Having forgotten Shauna was there, Ash felt his heart sank. He knew Shauna had feelings for him, or was at least enamored by his physical appearance, but he just didn't feel the same. Well, that was half-true...she was extremely attractive, there was no doubt about that...but he just didn't like her in that way.

He was trying to come up with a nice way to let her down when she said, "I know what you're thinking..."

Ash blinked. "Wait...what?" he asked, confused. "Are you sure?"

Shauna laughed and blushed. "Of course I do," she said, taking her hand off of his arm.

Ash took a step back. "I thought...you liked me," he said, lightly touching where her hand had been just moments ago.

Shauna laughed again. "Is that disappointment I hear?" she joked. "I do like you, Ash...but I know it's not mutual. I see the way you look at her..." she nodded over in Serena's direction, "and I know for sure she's had a thing for you for the _longest_ time," she said, rolling her eyes as she remembered how clueless Ash had been when they were all ten.

This time it was Ash's turn to blush. "Well...you're right...there's no way around it. I'm totally into her...and I wanna be with her more than anything in the world," he said.

Shauna shrugged. "Then what the hell are you waiting for, Ash? She's right over there, for Arceus' sake!" she said, gesturing over in Serena's direction. She gave Ash a quick peck on the cheek. "Sorry...I couldn't resist. But Ash...good luck...and I hope you're happy with her. She is one of the most amazing girls you will ever meet," Shauna said as she turned and started walking away. She made sure to be far enough before letting the tears fall down her face. _Ash...I don't know how I'll get over you, but I truly do hope you'll be happy with her._

Ash stood there, a little dumbfounded, then suddenly came to his senses when he saw Calem approach Serena. He quickly glanced over at Shauna, then turned and started making his way towards them.

"Serena...I'm sorry for what I said. It was wrong...and offensive. I didn't mean it," Calem was saying.

Serena shifted her feet around uncomfortably. _He was being an asshole...but now, his voice seems so sincere, the same voice that convinced me to forget about Ash,_ she thought to herself. She very nearly freaked out when she noticed that Ash was coming towards them. _Oh no...this might end badly..._

"Please, Serena, I-" Calem started, just then realizing Ash had approached them. "What do you want, Ketchum?" he demanded, his tone of voice now in complete contrast to what it had been just a few seconds earlier.

Serena saw the look in Calem's eyes. It wasn't the look of the nice, sweet-talking guy she had been going out with before this whole thing happened. Calem wasn't who she had thought he was.

Ash didn't even acknowledge Calem's presence as he said, "Serena...you don't have to be talking to him."

That statement hung in the air within a few moments of silence. It was brief; concise, yet powerful at the same time. Serena contemplated Ash's words, knowing that he was right...Calem wasn't worth her time. In the end, or, just as relevantly, in the beginning...Ash was and always had been the one for her. She knew it the day he had helped her knee in the woods when they were just six years old.

Calem's voice returned to that sweet, soothing tone he had used to talk to her. "Serena...you know that I'm the one for you...don't you?" he said confidently.

Serena wiped a tear from her eye and said, "No, Calem. You're not the one for me. You're...you're so fake and I can't believe I didn't realize it until now...you just pretend to be kind and sweet because...because why? Because of my looks? My body? I don't know, but whatever it is, it's not yours...I was never yours. You found me when I was at a low point in life and convinced me that Ash no longer cared about me...and I feel ashamed to think that I fell for it, because Ash is the one who cares the most for me."

Ash felt his heart warm from hearing Serena's words, especially those last few. He felt angry at Calem for having taken advantage of her, but then realized that it was partially his fault in the first place for not getting in touch with her. He would have to apologize and make up for it somehow.

"You can leave now," Ash said flatly. "Unless you have some more bull shit to add."

Calem looked as if he wanted to say something more, but thought better of it. He simply stood there for a few moments, then turned to leave without saying another word. He silently walked away from the two childhood friends as if he had never known them.

Serena didn't watch him leave. Instead, she immediately turned to Ash and covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry you had to witness that," she said.

Ash shook his head and touched her arms with his hands. "Don't be sorry...here, uncover your face...it looks much prettier without your hands over it," he said, smiling as he gently moved her arms back down by her sides.

Serena smiled and blushed. "Th-thank you, Ash..." she managed to say. She tried her best to hide it, but her heart was beating fast and she was getting a bit anxious...being within such close proximity of Ash was always an exhilarating feeling for her.

Ash seemed nervous, scratching the back of his head occasionally and shifting his feet around a little. "Uh, so, Serena...I was just wondering...if maybe you'd wanna go to dinner with me tonight? I was thinking Coumarine City, seeing as how this place is kinda wrecked..." he said, his brown eyes gazing into her blue ones as he smiled at her.

Serena could've jumped into the air out of pure joy. _Is this a dream? Is this really happening?_ she thought to herself. _Coumarine City...is this just a coincidence, or is that place just as special to him as it is to me?_ she wondered, remembering the Pledging Tree and how Ash had given her the blue ribbon she still wore today.

"Of course, Ash! I'd love to," she said, her cheeks blushing as her eyes gleamed with happiness and adoration. Whether Ash had picked Coumarine City for a reason, or whether Ash was as excited as she was at that moment, she didn't quite know for sure. But something about the way his face lit up when she said those words gave her the impression that he was overcome with joy.

"Great!" Ash exclaimed excitedly, trying his absolute best to keep his cool in front of Serena. "But, uh, it's only four right now...I don't know if you have any plans or anyth-"

Serena cut him off. "How about we walk there, then?" she suggested cheerfully. "It'll take us just about one or two hours to get there...that is, if you'd want to walk..." she said hopefully, looking up at him.

Ash smiled, which made her heart skip a beat. "That sounds like a great idea," he said as he took her hand in his. The two childhood friends began their walk to Coumarine City, hand in hand.

For both Ash and Serena, there was nothing that could have made them happier.

The End

– – – –

Finally, the story has come to a close. I'd like to thank each and every one of you who has followed/favorited this story; without your support, I'm not sure if I would have had the motivation to finish my work. Special shoutouts to Halo Ash and ultimateCCC for reviewing every chapter, I really appreciate that. Also, even if you didn't follow/favorite/review, I want to thank you for reading the whole thing through but I would also like to know if there was anything I could have done better to maybe earn that support from you.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this story, I personally think it's my best one so far. If you haven't already, it would mean a lot to me if you checked out some of my other stories. While they may not be as good as this one, I certainly think they are worth a read if you have the time. One last thanks, and I hope you'll follow me for my new stories to come!


	15. Chapter 14

BONUS CHAPTER

(Just decided to write this on a whim...enjoy!)

~ Vaniville Town ~

Three days have passed since the destruction of Prism Tower. The incident has officially been recorded as "The Prism War", and will go down in the history books for years to come. Already, Clemont and Bonnie have been planning to redesign and rebuild the landmark to restore Lumiose City to its former glory. Clemont had ordered the necessary supplies, and even rallied a group of volunteers to help out, with Bonnie being a self-appointed manager. That, however, is not what they were doing now.

Now, at Serena's house, they were celebrating their victory. Celebrating the safety of the Kalos region, and the apprehension of Team Magma and Team Aqua. Everyone who fought-minus Zinnia-was there, even the Champion of Kalos herself, Diantha. Professor Sycamore was there, too.

Needless to say, it was probably the grandest parties anyone there had ever experienced. They held a battle tournament, a mini contest, a showcase competition, and even a Rhyhorn race. Food, of course, was plentiful in all kinds, much to everyone's (especially Ash and Chespin's) delight. Those who hadn't had time to get acquainted with one another before the Prism War now had a chance to do so, and before long all of Ash's former companions had become one, unified group of strong, determined trainers of all kinds.

Ash? Ash had one hell of an adventure in store for him, and he knew exactly where it was going to be. But coming back to Kalos and seeing Serena again (not to mention escalating their relationship) had planted a small seed of doubt in his thoughts. He didn't know how to go about it exactly, but he was planning on asking Serena to go with him to his next destination.

Ash sat under a tree next to Pikachu. They were watching Gary's Blastoise battle against Max's Gallade when Serena walked up and sat beside them. "Hey, guys...mind if I join you here?" she asked.

Ash smiled and nodded his head. Pikachu decided to leave the two trainers alone for a bit and scurried off to find someone to play with. Ash and Serena both chuckled and blushed slightly.

"This party is great, Serena," Ash said, and he was right. Everyone was having an amazing time.

"You can thank my mom for that," Serena replied cheerfully. "She did all the planning. She even wanted to have a piñata, but I had to remind her that we're not nine anymore."

Ash laughed, which warmed Serena's heart. His laugh had always been soothing and comforting to her. It was one of the many qualities she loved about him.

He cleared his throat and said, "So, I was think-"

But Bonnie interrupted him. "Ash! Serena! Come over here and have cake with us!" she shouted, hollering and waving her arms to get their attention. Knowing she wouldn't stop until they agreed, Ash and Serena both got up and joined the rest of the group for cake. Clembot was cutting a huge, three-layered chocolate cake into perfectly congruent pieces and handing one to each person and Pokemon.

Ash thanked Clembot for his slice and ate halfheartedly. The cake tasted great, but he couldn't stop thinking about what he wanted to ask Serena.

After about a minute or so, Misty cleared her throat and tried to get everyone's attention. "Hey, everyone! I have something I want to say." Everyone quieted down and listened intently, curious. "I...I've decided to step down as a Gym Leader," she said. "I want to travel again...see new things again, battle new Pokemon again...Brock, Ash, I miss our adventures together. I know you two have your own lives now, but I'm taking myself back to that time. I love being a Gym Leader, but I want to see the world. My first destination will most likely be Sinnoh, because I want to see the beautiful lakes there, and then maybe Unova...I don't know for sure yet, but that's all part of the experience."

Everyone was excited for her, but at the same time concerned. "Who will take over the Gym in your place?" May asked.

Misty replied, "I can have one of my sisters fill in for now, until I find a permanent replacement."

Alain raised his hand. "I also have something I would like to say," he announced, and everyone turned their attention to him. "I will be traveling to Kanto, where I will enter the League and collect the eight badges there. After that, I will want to have a rematch with Pallet Town's Champion," he said, pointing at Ash. "Mairin will be coming with me," he added.

Suddenly, everyone was chiming in with their future plans. May and Drew decided that they were going to explore Kalos for a few months, as did Paul and Gary. Brock was going back to Saffron hospital, while Dawn and Kenny were choosing to travel to Hoenn together.

Serena smiled and felt pure joy for her friends and their exciting plans. _Even after this long, exhausting battle...everyone is still ready to continue their journeys,_ she thought. _They all still have something new and life-changing ahead of them, and they always will...because that's who we all are. Well, that's who they all are...can I say the same for myself? What do I want to do next?_

And that's when Ash held his hand up to get everyone's attention. At that moment, dozens of conversations were going on at once, but seeing Ash's hand got everyone quiet fairly quickly. Whispers flew here and there, everyone waiting in overwhelming suspense as they looked to their friend. Their leader.

Ash cleared his throat. He looked a bit nervous as he said, "I'm glad to hear about everyone's plan for the future. It all sounds so incredibly amazing...and I honestly wish I could experience it with each and every one of you. And I want to tell you all that I, too, have a big adventure ahead of me. He pulled out a map out of his bag and opened it up, showing it to everyone. It showed four large islands, each with distinct features and a brief description. The map was titled, "Alola".

"Whoa," Bonnie said, her eyes wide with curiosity and amazement. Such was the reaction of many others as well.

"That's so cool, Ash!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Be sure to take lots of pictures," Cilan said. "I'd imagine that four different islands can provide you with quite astounding views."

Serena's lips curled into a big smile. "Ash...that looks incredible. I'm sure you've thought of all the new Pokemon you'll encounter there," she said, a hint of sadness in her eyes. _Of course...he's leaving again,_ she thought, but tried to put her cheeriest face on for him. She didn't want to ruin this moment by making him feel guilty for leaving. "I wish I could go there with you," she said.

To her surprise, Ash asked, "Why don't you?"

Serena froze for a second. _Did he really just ask me...to come with him?_ she wondered.

Ash chuckled. "I would really love it if you came with me to Alola, Serena," he said. His face made it seem like he had been wanting to say that for a long time. And he had.

It was safe to say that Serena had never felt happier in her entire life. "Of course I'll go with you, Ash!" she shouted, and threw her arms around him. They embraced each other, and everyone smiled. May and Iris both teared up a little. "Well damn...Ash is really grown up now," Iris said.

Grace felt an overwhelming sense of joy for her daughter. "Just be careful, Serena. Don't get separated from Ash, now, okay?" she said, at which Serena rolled her eyes.

"I'll be fine, mom," Serena reassured her. "I'll be with Ash, so there's nothing to be concerned about. If anything, I'll have to be keeping an eye on him," she said, and everyone laughed.

Alain patted Ash on the back. "I'll have to admit, I'm a bit jealous...but I have my own goals. Just don't forget about our rematch, alright?" he said, chuckling. Though he was much older than Ash, Alain considered him one of the best friends he'd ever made.

Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder and cheered. "Pika, pika pi!" he said. Ash smiled and said, "Yeah, buddy, we're leaving Kalos again...but this time, Serena's coming with us!"

Serena couldn't stop smiling; now she not only knew what she was going to do, but she was going to be with the person she cared for the most out of everyone. Together, they were going to be an inseparable pair.

"Next stop...the Alola region!"


End file.
